Auto manufacturer Umicore has halted construction on a rechargeable battery plant for electric vehicles (EVs). The company cites declining demand in Canada for the decision.

After breaking ground less than a year ago, Umicore Rechargeable Battery Materials Canada Inc., addressed growing concerns facing the industry. EV growth projections face a "significant slowdown" moving forward, according to a June report.

"Indeed fewer than four in ten indicated they had considered purchasing a zero emission vehicle, down from 51 percent in 2022," said a separate report, Canadians’ Awareness, Knowledge And Attitudes Related To Zero Emission Vehicles. 

Asked, "Have you considered purchasing or leasing a zero emission vehicle?", only 36% said yes, reported Blacklock’s Reporter.

The Loyalist Township plant, about 25 kilometres northwest of Kingston, Ontario, is on an indefinite hiatus over reduced sales of cathode materials. 

Rebel News' Sheila Gunn Reid discusses wasteful electric vehicle chargers built by the federal government which have now been decommissioned and were never operational.

FULL REPORT by @SheilaGunnReid: https://t.co/Vk5KSvxNpn pic.twitter.com/gGV64pInAK

— Rebel News (@RebelNewsOnline) September 29, 2022

Umicore also attributed the decision to Europe scaling back electrification plans, and underwhelming sales from a Chinese battery manufacturer.

"The large impairment of our Battery Materials assets is painful and reflects the changed situation as we see it today," Umicore CEO Bart Sap said in a July 26 statement.

The $2.8 billion project received $551 million and $425 million, respectively, from the federal and Ontario governments. It would have created over 600 direct jobs plus 700 co-op positions for students.

The initial announcement did not clarify if the jobs would go to Canadians. Umicore could not be reached for comment on how much taxpayer funding it accessed and whether it would hire foreigners using those funds.

Rebel News also reached out to Innovation, Science, and Economic Development Canada (ISED) and Ontario’s Ministry of Economic Development, Job Creation and Trade, but did not hear back at publication.

No-one believes this. No-one even says this. Not even the electric car companies themselves.

Only the desperate Trudeau regime, and the government journalists at the CBC state broadcaster. pic.twitter.com/L7dd5hBP5P

— Ezra Levant 🍁🚛 (@ezralevant) January 15, 2024

Cabinet to date has pledged $151.5 billion in aid for the EV sector. A federal mandate would prohibit new sales of gasoline or diesel-powered passenger vehicles by 2035.

Thirty-five percent said, “I would only buy or lease a zero emission vehicle if the price were about the same as an equivalent gas or diesel powered vehicle.”

The typical driver budgeted $40,000 or less to buy a new car, owned one vehicle, and questioned the hidden costs of electrics, said Zero Emission Vehicles.

An increasing number of Canadians worry that if too many people purchase EVs, it would further strain the electricity grid (54%) and significantly increase their monthly electricity bill (48%).

Should Umicore’s plant come to fruition, ISED predicts enough battery materials for at least 800,000 EVs annually. It would source Canadian critical minerals like nickel, lithium, and cobalt.

More than $600 million in pension dues have been invested in China’s electric vehicle sector, according to disclosures from the Canada Pension Plan Investment Board.

MORE: https://t.co/ReUthvPF9O pic.twitter.com/vzr6Vbdbct

— Rebel News Canada (@RebelNews_CA) July 3, 2024

Additionally, there are concerns about market oversupply due to overproduction in China. Federal consultations are set to conclude on imposing tariffs for Chinese EVs.

China is also a major battery supplier for EVs, as well as battery components globally, accounting for 80% of all lithium-ion EV batteries worldwide in 2021.

Other policies being considered include exclusions to the $5,000 taxpayer rebates and broader investment restrictions. 

The only Chinese EVs currently sold in Canada are produced by Tesla Inc., which reported a 9% drop in earnings due to sagging demand for the transportation mode. EV purchases plateaued in the third quarter of 2023, according to Statistics Canada. 

“We are living in a world right now where China is taking advantage of the global economic system,” Finance Minister Christian Freeland said. “We need to defend our national interest and we will.”