Canadian EV sales reach record highs despite removal of Ontario provincial incentives
The Canadian market saw electric vehicle sales reach a record high in 2018 selling 71,883 vehicles—a 64.0% increase when compared to 2017. Battery hybrids (HEV) continued to be the top selling alternative powertrain with 28,352 new vehicle sales, closely followed by battery electric vehicles (BEV) with 21,314 sales, a year-over-year increase of 151.6%. The largest year-over-year increase came from plug-in hybrids (PHEV) with an increase of 235.1% (17,655 vs. 5,269). Sales of extended range vehicles (EREV) remained relatively stable, increasing only 1.0% when compared to the previous year.
- While Ontario had the highest electric vehicle sales among the provinces in 2018 (28,561 units), British Columbia and Quebec had the highest share of EVs sold comparatively to their total market with 5.42% and 5.05% market share, respectively
- The best-selling EVs in 2018 for the Canadian market were the Toyota RAV4 (HEV), Tesla Model 3 (BEV), Nissan Leaf (BEV), Mitsubishi Outlander (PHEV), and Chevrolet Volt (EREV)
During the third quarter of 2018, Ontario ended its Electric and Hydrogen Vehicle Incentive Program, which included incentives on the sale of electric vehicles (BEV, EREV, and PHEV). As a result, sales of BEV, EREV, and PHEV vehicles within Ontario were impacted—sales spiked before the deadlines set by the government and fell during the last quarter of the year when the program had officially ended. Throughout the first nine months of 2018, the province averaged 5,013 units per quarter, an increase of 184.5% when compared to the same time period in 2017. However, in Q4 only 2,119 vehicles were sold with a BEV, EREV, or PHEV powertrain, a year-over-year decrease of 15.6%. In comparison, British Columbia and Quebec had year-over-year increases in Q4 of 161.3% and 150.1%, respectively.
- For customers to have received the EV incentive during 2018, the vehicle must have either been purchased, registered, and plated by July 11th or the vehicle needed to be on the lot or ordered by July 11th and delivered to customers, registered, and plated by September 10, 2018
- Sales of the Model 3 were strong in Q4 with the model consisting of around one-fourth of all Canadian EVs sales and over one-third of all Ontario’s EV sales. Without the Model 3, year-over-year EV sales for Ontario in Q4 would have been even more drastic, going from a decline of 15.6% to a decline of 44.1%
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