The Canadian province of British Columbia plans to ban sales of new gas and diesel cars by 2040, phasing in targets for electric car sales starting in 2025. 

The province would join nine countries and more than a dozen cities around the world in setting a deadline to end eternal-combustion sales in coming decades, including Britain, France, Norway, Israel, and China, along with California, Madrid, Athens, Mexico City, and others.

Most of the deadlines range from 2025 for some cities to 2040 for larger countries. China has still not set a date but has announced that it plans to do so. 

Premier John Horgan said BC will phase in sales targets starting with 10 percent in 2025, 30 percent by 2030 and 100 percent by 2040, according to a Reuters report.

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The bans apply to new-car sales, not to used-car sales or vehicles already out in use.

To provide a carrot to consumers alongside the stick of a ban, the BC government plans to invest more money in expanding the province's fast charging network and continue to offer incentives to electric car buyers. The province has invested more than $3 million in building electric car fast chargers.

CHECK OUT: Subsidy's swansong: Canadian plug-in sales take a dip

British Columbia offers up to $5.000 toward the purchase of an electric car, depending on the battery size, and up to $6,000 for a fuel-cell model.

Earlier, in 2014, the province allowed electric-car purchase subsidies to expire and saw sales drop by about half, depending on the model, only to rise again a year later after subsidies were reinstated.

Since incentives have expired in Ontario, BC has become the top market for electric cars in Canada.

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