Canadian zero-emission car registrations declined within the first quarter of 2023, as battery-electric and plug-in hybrid car gross sales fell from recent heights scaled within the ultimate three months of 2022.

ZEV registrations coast-to-coast totaled 30,533 from January via March, accounting for 8.6 per cent of all Canadian automobiles registered, in line with information from Statistics Canada revealed Aug. 2.

This compares with 33,399 ZEV registrations for the fourth quarter of 2022, which equated to 9.6 per cent of all gross sales, a file tally for the fast-growing section.

Regardless of falling quarter-to-quarter, ZEV registrations for the primary three months of 2023 have been up significantly from the comparable quarter of 2022. First-quarter outcomes final yr confirmed ZEVs accounting for 7.7 per cent of the brand new automobiles added to Canadian roads over the three-month span.

Provincially, British Columbia and Quebec stay on the forefront of ZEV adoption, with Ontario in a distant third place.

B.C. ZEV registrations made up 17.9 per cent of all car registrations within the province for the primary three months of 2023; 14.5 per cent of the brand new automobiles registered in Quebec have been ZEVs over the identical time span.

Uptake in Ontario, which doesn’t supply a provincial ZEV rebate, fell considerably from late 2022; 5.9 per cent of the brand new automobiles added to provincial roads within the first quarter have been ZEVs, in contrast with eight per cent of all registrations within the ultimate quarter of 2022, in line with Statistics Canada.