Ontario announces $80-million fund for electric car-charging stations.

TORONTO – August 9, 2011 -- Ontario, Canada today announced an $80-million fund to kick-start the widespread availability of electric car charging stations to make it more convenient for families to choose electric cars.

Ontario will encourage public and private sectors to come forward with proposals to build, test and expand the availability of recharging facilities. The province will provide seed money to the projects chosen.

The goal is to ensure that charging stations are conveniently located in order to get more electric cars on the road. Ontario already offers drivers incentives to purchase electric cars -- including an incentive of $5,000 to $8,500 and "green license plates," which allow drivers to use the province's network of high occupancy vehicle (HOV) lanes.

Quotes:

"We're taking the next step to ensure car-charging stations are in the right place to power the next generation of vehicles. Just as we worked hard to become North America's number one producer of cars, we're working hard to become number one in North America when it comes to clean energy. Today's announcement takes us one step closer to our vision."
– Dalton McGuinty
Premier of Ontario

"The McGuinty government is planning for Ontario's future. By leading in renewable energy, we are providing Ontario families with the opportunity to save money, while at the same time protecting our environment."
– Bob Chiarelli
Minister of Infrastructure

Quick Facts:

• This announcement is part of the Ontario government's infrastructure investments of more than $35 billion over the next three years.
• Places around the world such as China, UK, Denmark, Germany, Israel, US, France, Shanghai, Vancouver, Paris, New York City, British Columbia and Quebec are all investing in the charging stations and infrastructure to support the adoption of electric cars.
• The province's vision is to have one out of 20 cars in Ontario electrically powered by 2020.
• Toyota recently announced it chose Woodstock, Ontario as the place to manufacture the RAV4 EV.
• More cars are built in Ontario than any other state or province in North America.

For more information, contact:

Patricia Pytel, Media Relations, Brand Marketing
Ministry of Economic Development and Trade
Tel: 416-314-8704
E-mail: Patricia.Pytel@ontario.ca

Lindsey Schober, Senior Account Executive
BlissPR
Tel: 312-577-0043
Email: Lindsey@blisspr.com