In Q2 2022, BEVs made up 5.0 per cent of new registrations in Canada — a slight slip from Q1, but up more than 10 per cent in absolute numbers — while total ZEV share was 6.9 per cent, according to Statistics Canada’s latest report

National registrations of new zero-emission vehicles (ZEVs) — battery electrics and plug-in hybrids combined — continue to grow in Canada with StatsCan reporting a total 6.9 per cent market share for the category in Q2 2022.

For battery electric vehicles specifically, registrations for the quarter were 5.0 per cent, 0.8 per cent less than the share of new BEV registrations in Q1 2022. This decline matched ZEVs’ overall market share drop in Q2 from their 7.7 per cent perch in Q1.

In terms of actual units, StatsCan data shows that 21,764 BEVs were registered across Canada in Q2 compared to 19,695 in Q1, an increase of 10.5 per cent. For plug-in hybrids (PHEVs), the Q2 total was 8,068, up from 6,323 in Q1.

For the year to date, BEVs make up an overall 5.4 per cent of new registrations. And year-over-year the jump for BEVs from Q2 2021 to Q2 2022 is notable.

“Within ZEVs, new registrations of battery-electric vehicles increased 34.6%, while new registrations of plug-in hybrid electric vehicles increased 2.9% compared with the second quarter of 2021,” reads StatsCan’s report.

By the numbers

At the provincial level, Ontario led the country with the most new BEV registrations while British Columbia/the Territories led in overall BEV market penetration. Quebec placed second on both counts. Their totals were as follows:

• Ontario: 7,877 new registrations; 4.7 per cent provincial market share
• Quebec: 6,913 new registrations; 6.5 per cent market share
• B.C./the Territories: 5,552 new registrations; 10.8 per cent market share

Factoring in all ZEV types as defined by StatsCan, Quebec led in overall registrations and B.C. came first, again, in market penetration, as follows:

• Quebec: 11,105 new registrations; 10.5 per cent provincial market share
• Ontario: 9,533 new registrations; 5.6 per cent market share
• B.C./the Territories: 7,097; 13.8 per cent market share

At the city level, according to StatsCan, “In the second quarter, Montréal (6,149) was the census metropolitan area with the highest number of new ZEV registrations, followed by Toronto (5,587) and Vancouver (5,382).”

Combustion vehicle registrations in long-term decline

While new combustion vehicle registrations jumped considerably in Q2 over Q1 — to 374,568 from 298,975 — the longer-term numbers tell a different story.

“Among fuel types, new registrations of gasoline-powered vehicles were the only vehicle type to decline [year over year], with 15.6% less [in Q2 2022] than in the second quarter of 2021,” reads StatsCan’s report. “In the second quarter of 2022, gasoline-powered vehicles represented 81.4% of total new motor vehicle registrations, down from 95.1% in the second quarter of 2017, the first year quarterly estimates are available.”

Overall, 431,861 new motor vehicles (of all fuel types) were registered in the second quarter, which is an 11.2 per cent decline from Q2 2021. Vans and passenger vehicles saw the most new registration losses, while pick-up trucks were the only vehicle type that saw a new registration increase.