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All new light-duty cars and trucks sold in B.C. will be propelled by zero-emission technology by 2040, Premier John Horgan announced Tuesday.

The government will beef-up its purchase incentive programs by $20 million this year, bringing the value of the initiative to $57 million.

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“If we want British Columbians to be part of the solution for reducing air pollution. We need to make clean energy vehicles more affordable, available and convenient,” said Horgan.

Electric vehicle buyers who are eligible can receive up to $5,000 in incentives for battery-powered vehicles and plug-in hybrids, and $6,000 for hydrogen-fuelled vehicles, under the Clean Energy Vehicles for British Columbia program.

Horgan’s electric vehicle commitment is the first major policy plank in a plan to reduce greenhouse gas emissions while expanding the liquefied natural gas industry.

The government will leverage federal funding and private partnerships to more than double the number of direct-current fast-chargers available to the public from 71 to 151.

“We’re working toward a seamless network, integrated with other jurisdictions and servicing both urban and rural areas,” said Energy Minister Michelle Mungall.

Photo by Emotive / PNG

Six retail hydrogen refuelling stations will be built, beginning with two stations in Metro Vancouver and one in Victoria, with all six to be completed by the end of 2020.

Under the new goals, by 2025, 10 per cent of new light-duty passenger vehicle sales in B.C. will be zero-emission vehicles, increasing to 30 per cent by 2030, and 100 per cent by 2040.

“(2040) may seem like a long way off, but it’s really the lifecycle of two cars,” said Green party leader Andrew Weaver, who drives a Nissan Leaf.

About 3.5 per cent of vehicles sold in B.C. in the first half of 2018 were electric, according to Clean Energy Canada.

Electric vehicles — both hybrid gas-electrics and battery — make up 1.5 per cent of the 3.7 million light and heavy vehicles on the road in B.C. today.

British Columbians buy electric cars at more than three times the rate of other Canadians, but the supply and selection of vehicles is spotty.

A survey of B.C. car dealerships found that only 40 per cent have electric vehicles on their lots to sell, according to Clean Energy Canada. Most said customers have to wait from several months to more than a year to get one.