Rebate volume dropped 14.3 per cent quarter over quarter, while the Chevrolet Bolt topped the list of most popular EVs for incentives

New Q3 data from the government of Canada shows Quebec is once again leading the country when it comes to claiming Electric Vehicle Affordability Program (EVAP) rebates.

But the number of rebates awarded dropped by 14.3 per cent overall across Canada in Q3 compared with Q2.

Across the country in Q3, there were 34,486 rebates issued, worth $151,673,012. Of those, 25,763 were for BEVs.

In Q2, there were 40,239 rebates worth $173,044,347. Of those, 28,305 were BEV rebates.

Meanwhile, Quebec accounted for 52.9 per cent of all EVAP rebates claimed in Canada in Q3 — a slight uptick from Q2, which was 51.5 per cent.

On a unit-by-unit basis, however, the province’s 18,115 total rebates in Q3 is a 9.61 per cent drop from the 20,040 the province’s drivers received in Q2.

Q3 rebates by region

Province/ Territory	Number of rebates	Value of rebates	% of total rebate value	% of total BEV rebates
Que.	18,115	$80,288,881	52.9%	53.3%
Ont.	7,356	$31,920,198	21.1%	20.7%
B.C.	6,022	$27,042,759	17.8%	18.4%
Alta.	1,089	$4,610,000	3.0%	2.9%
Man.	612	$2,633,125	1.7%	1.7%
N.S.	378	$1,548,125	1.0%	0.9%
N.B.	345	$1,387,625	0.9%	0.8%
Sask.	217	$867,500	0.6%	0.5%
Nfld.	191	$724,375	0.5%	0.4%
P.E.I.	131	$535,424	0.4%	0.3%
Yukon	25	$95,000	0.1%	0.1%
N.W.T.	5	$20,000	0.0%	0.0%
Nunavut	0	$0	0.0%	0.0%

(Leases are valued at the maximum. Of the list of 34,486 records, 11,755, or 34 per cent, are leases, and EVAP pro-rates lease incentives by term [48-month = 100 per cent, 12 month = 25 per cent]. The data has no lease-term field, so it can’t be pro-rated.)

The majority of rebates were issued for BEVs over plug-in hybrid electric vehicles (PHEVs) in all regions that received EVAP. 

Province/ Territory	Total rebates	PHEV rebates	BEV rebates	BEV % of regional rebates
Que.	18,115	3,637	13,722	75.7%
Ont.	7,356	1,778	5,341	72.6%
B.C.	6,022	1,134	4,744	78.7%
Alta.	1,089	326	750	68.8%
Man.	612	164	436	71.2%
N.S.	378	133	239	63.2%
N.B.	345	129	207	60.0%
Sask.	217	82	127	58.5%
N.L.	191	86	99	51.8%
P.E.I.	131	44	82	62.5%
Yukon	25	12	13	52.0%
N.W.T.	5	2	3	60.0%
Nunavut	0	0	0	0.0%
Canada	34,486	7,527	25,763	74.7%

When EVAP began on Feb. 16 of this year, it received $2.275 billion in funding for a five-year duration. As of Oct. 1, there is $1.92 billion remaining.

Top 10 EV sales

Over Q3, the Chevrolet Bolt earned the most rebates by a wide margin at 16.3 per cent, almost double the uptake of the second-place Tesla Model Y. Just two PHEVs made the list.

Vehicle	Type	Rebates	% of all rebates
Chevrolet Bolt	BEV	5,637	16.3%
Tesla Model Y	BEV	3,336	9.7%
Chevrolet Equinox EV	BEV	3,311	9.6%
Ford Mustang Mach-E	BEV	2,942	8.5%
Toyota bZ	BEV	2,574	7.5%
Hyundai Kona EV	BEV	1,989	5.8%
Kia Niro EV	BEV	1,821	5.3%
Toyota RAV4 Plug-In Hybrid	PHEV	1,799	5.2%
Nissan Leaf	BEV	1,699	4.9%
Toyota Prius Plug-in Hybrid	PHEV	1,556	4.5%

BEVs or PHEVs eligible for EVAP must have a final transactional price of $50,000 or less. If the vehicles are built in Canada, however, there is no price limit.  

Imported vehicles must also come from a country with which Canada has a free-trade agreement, such as the U.S. Chinese-built EVs, therefore, are not eligible.

Next year, BEV and PHEV rebates drop to $4,000 and $2,000 respectively, then to $3,000 and $1,500 for 2028 and 2029, and $2,000 and $1,000 for the final year of the program in 2030.