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“They are technically allowed,” said Energy Minister Bruce Ralston, suggesting when dealerships buy their own cars for shuttles and other purposes it provides good advertising exposure to introduce others to the concept of electric vehicles.

But could publicly funded rebates be better spent on people and not subsidizing auto dealerships?

“You are the first person to ask me that question,” said Ralston, who took over the ministry in January and was not responsible for setting the rules on the existing rebate program. “The program is always open for review.”

It does not appear any review was conducted before last month’s provincial budget committed another $20 million to top up the electric vehicle rebate program.

Ralston said odd results are worth investigating. “There is room to improve any program,” he said.

But for now, Ralston said the new round of $20 million in rebates will start under the existing rules on April 1.

B.C.’s electric vehicle rebate program peaked in May 2019, as the $5,000 rebate on vehicles priced up to $77,000 dovetailed with a simultaneous $5,000 federal rebate and a $6,000 B.C. SCRAP-IT rebate if the buyer retired a gas or diesel vehicle at the same time.

The $16,000 in subsidies sparked a buying frenzy. Within two weeks, the B.C. program was out of its first round of money. In June, government topped up the fund but said demand was so high it would be empty again within two months without changes. It shrunk the rebate to $3,000 and lowered the price of eligible vehicles to $55,000.