Zero-emission vehicle registrations hit a new high of 29,832 in the second quarter of 2022, though the ZEV adoption rate slid as registrations of all vehicle types climbed during the second quarter, Statistics Canada said in its latest automotive report Oct. 11.
ZEVs accounted for 6.9 per cent of all vehicles registered between April and June, down from 7.1 per cent three months earlier, but up from 4.9 per cent during the comparable quarter of 2021.
Battery-electric vehicles accounted for the largest share of ZEV registrations, with 21,764 added to Canadian roads in the second quarter. An additional 8,068 plug-in hybrids were registered during the three-month period.
Across all fuel types, Canadians registered 431,861 vehicles during the second quarter, an increase of 27.1 per cent from the first three months of 2022, though a decline of 11.2 per cent from the second quarter of last year.
Consistent with recent reporting periods, Quebec led all provinces in total ZEV registrations, while British Columbia outpaced others on adoption rate. ZEV registrations in Quebec reached 11,105, or 10.5 per cent of all vehicle sales, in the second quarter. British Columbians registered 7,097 ZEVs, accounting for 13.8 per cent of vehicle sales.
While Ontario continued to lag the two leaders, it recorded its highest ZEV adoption rate to date. Of all Ontario vehicle registrations in the second quarter, 5.6 per cent, or 9,533, were ZEVs.
Several other provinces also posted notable growth in ZEVs from a year earlier, Statistics Canada said. ZEV registrations in Prince Edward Island were up 119 per cent year-over-year; Saskatchewan 93 per cent; New Brunswick 74.4 per cent; and Manitoba 52.6 per cent.