The federal government’s timeline for breaking even on the $28.2 billion in subsidies provided toward two electric-vehicle (EV) battery plants is “wildly optimistic,” according to Canada’s budgetary watchdog.
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and Industry Minister François-Philippe Champagne have repeatedly said the billions used to attract Stellantis and Volkswagen to build their respective plants in southwestern Ontario would be recouped in five years. However, new analysis from the Parliamentary Budget Officer (PBO) found it will likely take until 2043 to offset the subsidies.
The full breakdown of the subsidies is as follows: $13.2 billion for a Volkswagen battery manufacturing plant in St. Thomas, Ont., and $15 billion for a battery plant in Windsor, Ont. jointly built by European automaker Stellantis and LG Energy Solution, a South Korean battery manufacturer.