The Hyundai Inster, a small EV now available in Europe, earned four stars on the Euro New Car Assessment Program (NCAP). Here, it is crashed in the full width rigid barrier test at 50 kilometres an hour.Supplied
Canadians don’t want to let American tastes dictate which cars do and don’t end up on dealership lots, a new poll shows. But, opening up our streets to smaller, cleaner cars from Europe opens a fresh can of regulatory worms.
The good news is that these issues are entirely manageable; they need not be an excuse for inaction. As Tim Reuss, chief executive officer of the Canadian Automotive Dealers Association (CADA) and the former head of Mercedes-Benz Canada said changing the status quo comes down to “political will and paperwork.”
First, remember that Canadian vehicle homologation rules – crash safety and emissions standards – are closely aligned with those in the United States. Because the cost to homologate a car for Canada alone is prohibitively expensive given our relatively small market (fewer than two million new vehicles sold annually) we typically only get access to cars homologated for America.
Cue the world’s tiniest violin and shed a tear for all compact electric vehicles, fun hatchbacks, reasonably-priced station wagons, brilliantly deranged MPVs (multi-purpose vehicle), lightweight sports cars and other automotive oddities we could’ve had if it weren’t for America. Sigh.
An online poll conducted in June by environmental think tank Clean Energy Canada asked if Canada should allow European-approved vehicles into our country.
Doing so, the questionnaire rightly explained, “would increase the availability of car brands and models in Canada, including smaller, more affordable electric vehicles.”
To that question, 70 per cent of Canadians said yes, European-approved vehicles should be allowed for sale here. The idea proved popular across the political spectrum, with a majority of voters from all three major political parties in favour.
(In a totally anecdotal survey of the top-rated comments by readers of my previous story on the subject, many of you are in favour of it too. Some of you also thought Canada should drop or lower tariffs on Chinese-made EVs, but that’s a whole other can of worms, albeit one worth looking into.)
As it stands, it’s little wonder Canadian car buyers are looking for more choice. New vehicles have become ridiculously expensive and bloated with unnecessary features. At the same time, Western automakers seem to have abandoned the idea of offering an affordable ($25,000 to $40,000) long-range EV any time soon.
Crucially, the idea here isn’t for European automotive standards to replace North American ones; instead, both should be accepted.
It’s not a new policy proposal, but it is one that CADA has recently advocated for. Reuss said almost all car manufacturers – including American ones – support it. Consumers would see more new models hitting showrooms almost immediately and new brands would likely enter the market as well, Ruess said.
Now, the not-so-good news for Canadian drivers who have been hungrily eyeing the global smorgasbord of tasty new cars available in Europe.
A spokesperson for Transport Canada confirmed the department is aware of recent calls to allow vehicles homologated by its international counterparts.
But, here’s the rub: “The certification requirements of other jurisdictions may not be sufficient to meet the safety needs of Canadian road users due to Canada’s distinct driving environment,” wrote Sau Sau Liu, senior communications advisor for Transport Canada, adding that Canadian crash safety standards are tailored to the larger vehicles typically found on our roads.
America’s Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standards (FMVSS) – with which the Canada Motor Vehicle Safety Standards (CMVSS) are closely aligned – outlines a series of crash tests that are generally performed at slightly higher speeds and meant to simulate heavier vehicles compared to the crash tests mandated by the Economic Commission for Europe (ECE) safety standards.
However, ECE crash standards are better in some cases, particularly on pedestrian safety. While the U.S. has only recently woken up to the need to protect those outside of vehicles, Europe has long mandated comprehensive pedestrian impact testing.
The choice should be up to drivers. While I personally wouldn’t want to drive the new Fiat Topolino quadracycle – little more than a glorified golf cart – on city streets surrounded by giant pickups, I would feel safe in the compact new Renault 5 electric hatchback.
Anything that’s safe enough for the speed-limitless sections of German autobahn and perilous switchbacks of the Italian Alps should be safe enough for Canada.
Besides, if North American vehicles are considered too gigantic and heavy to safely share the road with reasonably sized European ones, the correct solution isn’t to forgo European-approved cars; it is to rein in the supersized excess of the largest and most dangerous pickups and SUVs in North America.
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