New registrations of zero-emission vehicles jumped to another record high in the third quarter of 2022, with battery electrics (BEVs) and plug-in hybrids (PHEVs) accounting for close to one in every 10 new vehicles on Canadian roads, according to the latest data from Statistics Canada.
Canadians registered 34,313 new ZEVs between July and September, the federal agency said Jan. 24. The tally represents 8.7 per cent of the 394,348 new vehicles registered.
ZEV registration volume has set a new high-water mark in each quarter of 2022 as electrified vehicles continue to carve out a larger share of the wider vehicle market. The category accounted for 6.9 per cent of total registrations in the second quarter of 2022, and 5.4 per cent in the third quarter of 2021.
Provincially, British Columbia continues to lead the way on ZEV adoption; 17.6 per cent of new vehicles registered over the three-month span were BEVs or PHEVs. Quebec and Ontario follow, with ZEV registrations making up 12.5 per cent and 7.2 per cent of each province’s respective new motor vehicle registrations in the third quarter.
The three provinces accounted for 91.8 per cent of Canadian ZEV registrations, roughly consistent with previous uptake rates across the country.
Within the ZEV category, BEVs continued to distance themselves from PHEVs. Registrations of full battery-electrics accounted for 85.6 per cent of the segment, with plug-ins making up the remaining 14.4 per cent.