The StatsCan data shows there was an incremental increase for battery-electric vehicles represented on Canadian roads in 2023

Editor’s note: This story has been edited to reflect that BEVs account for 1.3 per cent of all Canadian vehicle registrations, rather than annual registrations.

Battery-electric vehicles account for 1.3 per cent of all vehicles registered in Canada as of 2023, according to new data from Statistics Canada.

In real numbers, that translates to 329,402 battery-electric vehicles (BEVs) on the road in Canada in 2023. The overwhelming majority — 327,723 — are light-duty passenger vehicles.

The 2023 percentage is a slight increase from StatsCan data in 2022 when BEVs accounted for 0.9 per cent of all registrations, or, in real numbers, 222,306 vehicles.

Sales by automaker

In an effort to better understand automaker experiences with EV sales in Canada, Electric Autonomy reached out to the members of the Canadian Vehicle Manufacturers’ Association and the Global Automakers of Canada (plus Tesla) to request their BEV sales numbers from 2021 to the present.

Volvo, Vinfast and Maserati declined through a spokesperson to provide sales information. Meanwhile Tesla, BMW, Porsche and Jaguar Land Rover did not respond to the request.

However, 12 other automakers, including the largest ones, did disclose the information. Among the salient data, many manufacturers revealed  strong numbers for 2024, including record sales in Q3

Canadian jurisdictions

Every province and territory in Canada, with the exception of Nunavut, recorded an increase in BEV registrations between 2022 and 2023, according to StatsCan.

On a unit-by-unit basis, Quebec is the clear Canadian leader with 127,066 BEVs registered as of 2023, making up 2.1 per cent of registrations in the province.

By representation, British Columbia is the leader with BEVs making up 2.7 per cent of all provincial registrations (98,031 units).

Ontario has 83,805 BEV units registered, or, 1.0 per cent of all provincial registrations.