Montreal has a new debate. It all has to do the consumer demand and fuelling. Climate change.
The environmental group quiterre urges people to choose smaller cars over larger ones. SUVsArguments that larger vehicles are more polluting than smaller ones, emitting 20% more greenhouse gases than smaller ones.
”In Quebec, they are the main cause of the increase in greenhouse gas emissions since 2015,” Andranne Brazeau, quiterr mobility analyst, told Global News.
The organization has started a public awareness campaign called ”No SUV for me” hoping to steer potential buyers away from larger cars.
”The idea of the campaign is really to take the time to assess your needs,” she said.
Statistics Canada reports that three-quarters of all four cars sold in Canada were SUVs and minivans in 2021.
”We won’t fool anybody. An SUV is more practical than a car or a regular sedan with a separate trunk,” Jesse Caron, an automotive expert at CAA-Qubec told Global News.
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But the Canadian Vehicle Manufacturers’ Association argues the choice of purchasing a vehicle should be left to consumers, not quiterre and instead the group should focus its efforts on making access to the electric vehicle market more accessible.
”Help Canadians switch to electric and purchase some of these new and exciting vehicles we’re seeing coming into the market,” said Brian Kingston, CEO of the Canadian Vehicle Manufacturers’ Association.
quiterre doesn’t anticipate any changes overnight — it’s just hoping to move the consumer demand needle to smaller cars in the near future.
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