Electric vehicle (EV) registrations in Canada saw a 52% increase year-over-year during the first quarter of this year, according to a report from analytics firm IHS Markit.
Pure electrics made up 6.2% of all new light vehicle registrations in Canada between January and March, up from 3.7% during the same period last year.
Image: IHS Markit
Tesla led the Canadian EV market during Q1, with sales increasing to 12,221 in the quarter. The EV pioneer reported an all-time high of 310,048 deliveries across the globe for Q1, with record revenue of $18.7 billion USD.
Registration volume for zero-emission vehicles (ZEVs), which include both EVs and plug-in hybrids, rose 48% year-over-year during Q1 and represented 8.3% of all new light vehicles in the quarter.
Image: IHS Markit
One out of every twelve new vehicles registered in Canada during the first quarter was a ZEV.
British Columbia is leading the electrification movement in Canada, with 26% of the country’s Q1 ZEV registrations coming out of the province. B.C. also leads the country in all-electric registrations, with 13.6% of all new light vehicles registered in the province between January and March being battery electrics.
In second was Quebec at 13.6%, helped by a provincial EV incentive like B.C., seeing a 5.1 percentage point increase. Quebec takes 39% of all ZEV registrations in Canada, and volume increased by 45% in Q1.
Ontario was in third with 5.7% of ZEVs, lower than the national average. The province does not have an EV rebate anymore for new vehicles. Ontario saw a 3.2% increase in ZEVs, while total registrations at 28% of all registrations in Canada.
Last month, Canada expanded its federal Incentives for Zero-Emission Vehicles (iZEV) Program to offer rebates for a wider selection of ZEVs and accelerate uptake.
