"We want to make it easier to buy green cars," McGuinty told a news conference at the Courtesy Chevrolet dealership on the Queensway. The cash incentive is meant to ease sticker shock for plug-in hybrids, expected to cost around $40,000.

"We want people to become comfortable with these new technologies and help them become more widespread in the marketplace," McGuinty said.

Auto analyst Dennis DesRosiers called the cash incentive a bribe. One in every 20 cars adds up to about 350,000 electric vehicles on the road by 2020, he said. At $10,000 apiece in rebates, that means the province is looking at a $3.5 billion program.

"It is foolish policy," he said. "It is misdirected, not thoroughly thought through. There is much more the Ontario government can do to green the auto sector."

McGuinty also announced plans to buy 500 electric vehicles for the government fleet and promised to set up a system of reliable charging stations – integral to the wide-scale acceptance of electric vehicles. Recharging will be available in some government-owned and GO Transit parking lots, and the province is working with the private sector to come up with more. Continued....