Canada | Significant jump in sales of electric and plug-in vehicles, with Quebec in the lead

(Ottawa) Significantly more Canadians were driving zero-emission vehicles in the first quarter compared to last year, and Quebec continues to lead in this regard.

Statistics Canada says registrations of zero-emission vehicles in the country jumped 53% in the first quarter year over year.

The federal agency says 46,744 new zero-emission vehicles were registered in the first quarter, representing 11.3% of total new vehicle registrations.

The agency says battery electric vehicles accounted for 73% of total zero-emission vehicle registrations, while plug-in hybrids accounted for 27%.

Overall, the agency says new vehicle registrations increased 16.6% year over year in the first quarter, but decreased 3.1% compared to the fourth quarter of 2023.

She adds that van registrations fell by just over 8%, the first year-over-year quarterly decline for this type of vehicle, after seven consecutive increases.

Quebec in the lead

In the first quarter, 47.6% of all zero-emission vehicle registrations were made in Quebec, or a number of 22,231 vehicles. Ontario follows, at 23.3%, then comes British Columbia, at 21.1%.

This is a 90.7% increase in the number of new zero-emission vehicles having been registered in Quebec compared to the same quarter of the previous year.

The increase was 29% in Ontario, 111.4% in New Brunswick, and 38.2% in Prince Edward Island.