Thank you very much, Mr. Chair and honourable members, for the opportunity to appear in front of you today.
I apologize for the technical difficulties getting connected to the meeting, but I do appreciate the opportunity to be here.
I want to start off by saying that Global Automakers of Canada represents 15 international automakers and their Canadian operations in the country here, which represent 20-odd models.
Our affiliates and their members employ more than 77,000 Canadians in vehicle manufacturing, sales, distribution, parts, service, finance and head office operations. In 2019, the member companies with the GAC sold 1,146,000 vehicles, which represent about 60% of the auto market and over 60% of Canada's 3,300 new vehicle dealerships.
Our members are committed to the decarbonization of the products they are producing. However, it is clear the goal of decarbonization of the light-duty transportation sector cannot be achieved by focusing on new vehicle sales alone, which represent approximately 8% of all vehicles on the road. It is also clear that we will not achieve our GHG reduction goals for the overall light-duty fleet by focusing on driving the update of ZEV technology alone, as opposed to focusing on the real goal, which is GHG emission reductions in the transportation sector.
Currently in Canada there are about 168,000 zero-emission vehicles on the road out of a total light-duty vehicle population of approximately 23.5 million vehicles. This equates to ZEVs comprising less than 1% of all light-duty vehicles currently on the road.
That said, as others who have appeared before you have noted, hundreds of billions of dollars have been invested in zero-emission vehicle technology globally by automakers. While COVID-19 has in some cases delayed the introduction of models, it has by no means deterred automakers from the pursuit of the development and introduction of ZEVs. In fact, and importantly, I think, for those who have suggested that there are supply issues, GAC members alone will have more than 125 BEV and ZEV models brought to the market between 2021 and 2025.
In this regard, it's important to understand and underscore that the only real difference between the perspectives of governments, ENGOs and the automotive industry with respect to zero-emission vehicles is the issue of timing. We share the same goal.
The automotive industry is going through an unprecedented transition, the likes of which it has not experienced for more than 100 in its more than 100-year history. That transition is moving quickly, but it will time. It takes three to five years to bring a new vehicle model to market and roughly $1 billion to $2 billion. Auto companies must continue to earn profits on their current vehicle mixes to support the development of these vehicles.
Additionally, new suppliers and supply chain partners must be developed and cultivated to secure long-term contracts for batteries and other components that are completely new for the production of ZEVS.
As noted, the industry is changing, but it does take time, and the change is also responsive to demand and supply and will likely lag demand for the immediate further. However, we must underscore in no uncertain terms that short-term regulatory intervention in the form of ZEV mandates is out of step with the medium and longer-term time horizon of this industry transition.
We have a series of recommendations in our submission, but I think it's more important to hear questions from committee members.