Plug-in electric vehicles in Canada

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The Chevrolet Volt is the all-time top selling plug-in electric car in Canada. Shown here is a fleet of Volts at a solar-powered charging station in Toronto. Baka-charging-station cropped.jpg
The Chevrolet Volt is the all-time top selling plug-in electric car in Canada. Shown here is a fleet of Volts at a solar-powered charging station in Toronto.

The stock of plug-in electric passenger cars in Canada in use totaled 141,060 units at the end of 2019, consisting of 78,680 all-electric cars and 62,380 plug-in hybrids. [1] Sales totaled 50,960 units in 2019. [1]

Contents

The Chevrolet Volt was the top selling plug-in hybrid, with cumulative sales of 13,619 units through December 2017, and the Tesla Model S was the top selling all-electric car with 6,731 units as of December 2017. [2]

Quebec is the regional market leader in Canada, with about 11,000 plug-in electric cars registered as of September 2016, of which, 55% are plug-in hybrids. Registrations in the province totaled 3,100 units in 2015, representing a market share of 0.7% of new car sales, and 45% of total Canadian plug-in electric car sales that year. [3]

On December 21, 2022, Steven Guilbeault, Canada's minister of environment and climate change, unveiled a regulation that would require increasing percentages of vehicle sales in Canada to be zero-emission vehicles, up to 100% by the year 2035. The regulations will require that at least 20 percent of new vehicles sold in Canada will be zero emission by 2026, at least 60 percent by 2030, and 100 percent by 2035. [4]

Overview by province or territory

Articles about plug-in electric vehicles in individual provinces and territories:

Government incentives

Several electric cars charging in downtown Toronto. From farthest to closest, a Nissan Leaf, a Smart ED, and a Mitsubishi i MiEV. Ride and Drive EVs Plug'n Drive Ontario.jpg
Several electric cars charging in downtown Toronto. From farthest to closest, a Nissan Leaf, a Smart ED, and a Mitsubishi i MiEV.

The Canadian government provides a rebate of C$5000 to the purchase of an electric vehicle. [4]

Models available

In January 2009, Hydro-Québec and Mitsubishi signed an agreement to test 50 i-MiEV, at the time, the largest pilot test of electric cars in Canada ever. The test's goal was to allow a better understanding of winter usage of the technology. BC-Hydro and Mitsubishi had previously tested a three-vehicle fleet in British Columbia. [5] In October 2010, Transport Canada and Mitsubishi Motor Sales of Canada announced a partnership to test the Mitsubishi i-MiEV. Transport Canada's ecoTECHNOLOGY for Vehicles (eTV) Program tested two i-MiEVs in government facilities and in a variety of real-world conditions. This program aim was to evaluate the i-MiEV road performance and range. [6] Retail sales of the i-MiEV began in December 2011, [7] [8]

The Nissan Leaf roll-out in Canada began with fleet customers on July 29, 2011, [9] and deliveries to individuals began in late September 2011. [10] [11] As of December 2011, the Leaf was sold only through 27 Leaf-certified dealers for the entire country, and sales were limited to customers who live within a 65 km (40 mi) radius of one of those dealers. [12] Cumulative sales through December 2014 reached 1,965 units, and, as of December 2014, the Leaf ranked as the top selling all-electric car in the country. [13] [14]

The Tesla Model S is the all-time top selling pure electric car in Canada. Shown charging in Parksville, British Columbia. Model S Charging at Parksville beach BC Canada.jpg
The Tesla Model S is the all-time top selling pure electric car in Canada. Shown charging in Parksville, British Columbia.

Retail sales of the Tesla Model S began in 2012, with 95 cars delivered that year. A total of 638 units were sold in 2013, and cumulative sales reached 1,580 units through December 2014, allowing the Model S to rank as the second best selling all-electric car in the country. [13] [15] During 2014 the BMW i3, Kia Soul EV, BMW i8 and Porsche 918 Spyder were introduced in the Canadian market. [13] The top selling models in 2015 were the Tesla Model S with 2,010 units, followed by the Chevrolet Volt with 1,463, the Nissan Leaf with 1,233, the BMW i3 with 367, and the Kia Soul EV with 318. [16] In 2015, the Model S passed the Nissan Leaf as the all-time best selling all-electric car in Canada. [17] [18]

The all-electric Renault Twizy 40 low-speed quadricycle was certified by Transport Canada in March 2016, and was scheduled to be released on the Canadian market by mid-2016. [19]

British Columbia is the only place in the country where it is legal to drive a low-speed vehicle (LSV) electric car on public roads, although it also requires low speed warning marking and flashing lights. Quebec is allowing LSVs in a three-year pilot project. These cars will not be allowed on the highway, but will be allowed on city streets.[ citation needed ]

Sales

There were 18,451 highway legal plug-in electric cars registered in Canada as of December 2015, of which, 10,034 (54%) are all-electric cars and 8,417 (46%) are plug-in hybrids. These figures include some used imports from the U.S. [20] Until 2014 Canadian sales were evenly split between all-electric cars (50.8)% and plug-in hybrids (49.2%). [13]

The Chevrolet Volt, released in 2011, is the all-time top selling plug-in electric vehicle in the country, with cumulative sales of 6,387 units through May 2015 (representing over 30% of all plug-in cars sold in the country). [21] [16] [22] Ranking second is the Tesla Model S with 4,160 units sold through April 2016, followed by the Nissan Leaf with 3,692 units delivered as of May 2016. [21] [16] [14] The Model S was the top selling plug-in electric car in Canada in 2015 with 2,010 units sold. [16] [20]

A total of 1,969 plug-in cars were sold in 2012, up from 521 in 2011. Sales climbed 57.7% in 2013 to 3,106 units, and in 2014 were up 63.0% from 2013 to 5,062 units, reaching cumulative sales of 10,658 plug-in cars through December 2014. The market share of the plug-in electric car segment grew from 0.03% in 2011, to 0.12% in 2012, and reached 0.27% of new car sales in the country in 2014. [13] Cumulative sales reached the 30,000 unit mark in January 2017. [23]

The following table presents new car sales by year of all the highway-capable plug-in electric cars available in Canada between 2011 and December 2015.

Highway-capable plug-in electric new car sales by model
in Canada between 2011 and December 2015
ModelTotal
2011-2015		20152014201320122011
Chevrolet Volt [22] 5,4151,4631,5219311,225275
Tesla Model S [16] 3,5902,01084763895 
Nissan Leaf [14] 3,1981,2331,085470240170
Smart electric drive [16] 1,1323065612222815
Mitsubishi i MiEV [24] 61712110916819623
Ford C-Max Energi [16] 609138272199  
BMW i3 [16] 566367199   
Ford Fusion Energi [16] 429144169116  
Toyota Prius Plug-in Hybrid [16] 394437621263 
Kia Soul EV [16] 35731839   
Ford Focus Electric [16] 244424410355 
BMW i8 [16] 22820028   
Porsche Cayenne S E-Hybrid [16] 213213    
Fisker Karma [16] 100 72667 
Cadillac ELR [16] 7325444  
Chevrolet Spark EV [16] 6635265  
Porsche Panamera S E-Hybrid [16] 652045   
Tesla Roadster [16] 53    53
Porsche 918 Spyder [16] 28217   
Audi A3 Sportback e-tron [16] 2424   
McLaren P1 [16] 963   
BMW X5 xDrive40e [16] 55    
Toyota RAV4 EV [16] 41 3  
Total new plug-in car sales [16] 17,9956,9905,3223,1781,969536
PEV market share of new car sales [16] 0.37%0.29%0.18%0.12%0.03%
Note: New car sales seldom correspond to registrations figures, as some plug-in model registered are used imports from the U.S.
and some model numbers may declined as more cars are being taken off the road than are being sold.

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">History of the electric vehicle</span>

Crude electric carriages were first invented in the late 1820s and 1830s. Practical, commercially available electric vehicles appeared during the 1890s. An electric vehicle held the vehicular land speed record until around 1900. In the early 20th century, the high cost, low top speed, and short-range of battery electric vehicles, compared to internal combustion engine vehicles, led to a worldwide decline in their use as private motor vehicles. Electric vehicles have continued to be used for loading and freight equipment and for public transport – especially rail vehicles.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mitsubishi Outlander</span> Motor vehicle

The Mitsubishi Outlander is a compact crossover SUV manufactured by Japanese automaker Mitsubishi Motors since 2001. It was originally known as the Mitsubishi Airtrek when it was introduced in Japan.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Plug-in hybrid</span> Hybrid vehicle whose battery may be externally charged

A plug-in hybrid electric vehicle (PHEV) or simply plug-in hybrid is a type of hybrid electric vehicle equipped with a rechargeable battery pack that can be directly replenished via a charging cable plugged into an external electric power source, in addition to charging internally by its on-board internal combustion engine-powered generator. While PHEVs are predominantly passenger cars, there are also plug-in hybrid variants of sports cars, commercial vehicles, vans, utility trucks, buses, trains, motorcycles, mopeds, military vehicles and boats.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">History of plug-in hybrids</span>

The history of plug-in hybrid electric vehicles (PHEVs) spans a little more than a century, but most of the significant commercial developments have taken place after 2002. The revival of interest in this automotive technology together with all-electric cars is due to advances in battery and power management technologies, and concerns about increasingly volatile oil prices and supply disruption, and also the need to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. Between 2003 and 2010 most PHEVs on the roads were conversions of production hybrid electric vehicles, and the most prominent PHEVs were aftermarket conversions of 2004 or later Toyota Prius, which have had plug-in charging and more lead–acid batteries added and their electric-only range extended.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Electric car</span> Car propelled by an electric motor using energy stored in batteries

An electric car or electric vehicle (EV) is a passenger automobile that is propelled by an electric traction motor, using only energy stored in on-board batteries. Compared to conventional internal combustion engine (ICE) vehicles, electric cars are quieter, more responsive, have superior energy conversion efficiency and no exhaust emissions, as well as a lower overall carbon footprint from manufacturing to end of life. The term "electric car" normally refers to plug-in electric vehicle, typically a battery electric vehicle (BEV), but broadly may also include plug-in hybrid electric vehicle (PHEV), range-extended electric vehicle (REEV) and fuel cell electric vehicle (FCEV).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mitsubishi i-MiEV</span> Five-door hatchback electric city car

The Mitsubishi i-MiEV is a five-door electric kei car produced in the 2010s by Mitsubishi Motors, and is the electric version of the Mitsubishi i. Rebadged variants of the i-MiEV are also sold by PSA as the Peugeot iOn and Citroën C-Zero, mainly in Europe. The i-MiEV was the world's first modern highway-capable mass production electric car.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Nissan Leaf</span> Compact five-door hatchback electric car

The Nissan Leaf, stylized as "LEAF," is a battery-electric powered compact car manufactured by Nissan, produced since 2010 across two generations. It has been offered exclusively as a 5-door hatchback. The term "LEAF" serves as a backronym to leading environmentally-friendly affordable family car.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Plug-in electric vehicle</span> Type of vehicle

A plug-in electric vehicle (PEV) is any road vehicle that can utilize an external source of electricity to store electrical energy within its onboard rechargeable battery packs, to power an electric motor and help propelling the wheels. PEV is a subset of electric vehicles, and includes all-electric/battery electric vehicles (BEVs) and plug-in hybrid electric vehicles (PHEVs). Sales of the first series production plug-in electric vehicles began in December 2008 with the introduction of the plug-in hybrid BYD F3DM, and then with the all-electric Mitsubishi i-MiEV in July 2009, but global retail sales only gained traction after the introduction of the mass production all-electric Nissan Leaf and the plug-in hybrid Chevrolet Volt in December 2010.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Plug-in electric vehicles in the United States</span> Overview of plug-in electric vehicles in the US

The adoption of plug-in electric vehicles in the United States is supported by the American federal government, and several states and local governments.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Toyota Prius Plug-in Hybrid</span> Motor vehicle

The Toyota Prius Plug-in Hybrid is a plug-in hybrid liftback manufactured by Toyota. The first-generation model was produced from 2012 to 2016. The second-generation model has been produced since 2016. Production of the third-generation model began in 2023.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Electric car use by country</span>

Electric car use by country varies worldwide, as the adoption of plug-in electric vehicles is affected by consumer demand, market prices, availability of charging infrastructure, and government policies, such as purchase incentives and long term regulatory signals.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Green Car Vision Award</span> Annual automotive award

The Green Car Vision Award is an annual award granted by the Green Car Journal. In contrast with its Green Car of the Year award, which only considers production vehicles that make the most significant environmental advancements, the Green Car Vision Award considers pre-production vehicles with more than one functional prototype in existence and that may be in the early stages of commercialization. Vehicles that are part of a demonstration fleet or other program that finds them regularly driven by people other than employees of their manufacturer may also be considered. Nominees may also include a modification of an existing vehicle model, such as a conversion to another type of power like electric drive.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Renault–Nissan–Mitsubishi Alliance</span> French-Japanese strategic alliance

The Renault–Nissan–Mitsubishi Alliance, originally known as the Renault–Nissan Alliance, is a French-Japanese strategic alliance between the automobile manufacturers Renault, Nissan and Mitsubishi Motors, which together sell more than one in nine vehicles worldwide. Renault and Nissan are strategic partners since 1999 and have nearly 450,000 employees and control eight major brands: Renault, Nissan, Mitsubishi, Infiniti, Renault Korea, Dacia, Alpine, and Venucia. The car group sold 10.6 million vehicles worldwide in 2017, making it the leading light vehicle manufacturing group in the world. The Alliance adopted its current name in September 2017, one year after Nissan acquired a controlling interest in Mitsubishi and subsequently made Mitsubishi an equal partner in the Alliance.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Plug-in electric vehicles in Norway</span>

The Norwegian fleet of plug-in electric vehicles is the largest per capita in the world. In December 2016, Norway became the first country where five in every 100 passenger cars on the road were plug-in; attained 10% in October 2018, and reached 25% in September 2022.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Plug-in electric vehicles in the Netherlands</span> Overview of plug-in electric vehicles in the Netherlands

The adoption of plug-in electric vehicles in the Netherlands is actively supported by the Dutch government through the exemption of the registration fee and road taxes. These purchase incentives have been adjusted over time. Considering the potential of plug-in electric vehicles in the country due to its relative small size and geography, the Dutch government set a target of 15,000 to 20,000 electric vehicles with three or more wheels on the roads in 2015; 200,000 vehicles in 2020; and 1 million vehicles in 2025. The first two targets were achieved two years earlier than planned.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Plug-in electric vehicles in Japan</span> Overview of plug-in electric vehicles in Japan

The fleet of light-duty plug-in electric vehicles in Japan totaled just over 300,000 highway legal plug-in electric vehicles in circulation at the end of 2020, consisting of 156,381 all-electric passenger cars, 136,700 plug-in hybrids, and 9,904 light-commercial vehicles.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Plug-in electric vehicles in the United Kingdom</span> Overview of plug-in electric vehicles in the United Kingdom

The adoption of plug-in electric vehicles in the United Kingdom is actively supported by the British government through the plug-in car and van grants schemes and other incentives. About 745,000 light-duty plug-in electric vehicles had been registered in the UK up until December 2021, consisting of 395,000 all-electric vehicles and 350,000 plug-in hybrids. Until 2019, the UK had the second largest European stock of light-duty plug-in vehicles in use after Norway.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Plug-in electric vehicles in California</span> Overview of plug-in electric vehicles in the U.S. State of California

The stock of plug-in electric vehicles in California is the largest in the United States, and as of December 2023, cumulative plug-in car registrations in the state since 2010 totaled 1.77 million units. Between November 2016 and until 2020, China was the only country market that exceeded California in terms of cumulative plug-in electric car sales.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Plug-in electric vehicles in Australia</span> Overview of plug-in electric vehicles in Australia

The adoption of plug-in electric vehicles in Australia is driven mostly by state-based electric vehicle targets and monetary incentives to support the adoption and deployment of low- or zero-emission vehicles. The monetary incentives include electric vehicle subsidies, interest-free loans, registration exemptions, stamp duty exemptions, the luxury car tax exemption and discounted parking for both private and commercial purchases. The Clean Energy Finance Corporation, energy providers, car loan providers and car insurance providers also offer their own financial incentives for electric vehicle purchases including Macquarie Bank offering the lowest electric car loan of 2.99%.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Plug-in electric vehicles in Europe</span> Overview of plug-in electric vehicles in Europe

The adoption of plug-in electric vehicles in Europe is actively supported by the European Union and several national, provincial, and local governments in Europe. A variety of policies have been established to provide direct financial support to consumers and manufacturers; non-monetary incentives; subsidies for the deployment of charging infrastructure; and long term regulations with specific targets. In particular, the EU regulation that set the mandatory targets for average fleet CO2 emissions for new cars has been effective in contributing to the successful uptake of plug-in cars in recent years

References

  1. 1 2 International Energy Agency (IEA), Clean Energy Ministerial, and Electric Vehicles Initiative (EVI) (June 2020). "Global EV Outlook 2020: Entering the decade of electric drive?". IEA Publications. Retrieved 2020-06-15.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)See Statistical annex, pp. 247–252 (See Tables A.1 and A.12).
  2. ↑ Schmidt, Eric (2018-02-18). "Electric Vehicle Sales In Canada, 2017". FleetCarma News. Retrieved 2018-02-17.
  3. ↑ France Mobilité Électrique - AVERE France (2016-10-28). "L'Assemblée nationale du Québec adopte la loi véhicules zéro émission" [Quebec's National Assembly enacted a zero emissions vehicle law] (in French). AVERE. Retrieved 2016-10-28.
  4. 1 2 Canada, Environment and Climate Change (2022-12-21). "Let it roll: The Government of Canada moves to increase the supply of electric vehicles for Canadians". www.canada.ca. Retrieved 2023-06-02.
  5. ↑ Louis Butcher (2010-01-14). "Hydro-Québec s'associe à Mitsubishi pour tester une cinquantaine de véhicules électriques" [Hydro-Quebec joins Mitsubishi to test fifty electric vehicles] (in French). Rue Frontenac. Retrieved 2010-05-30.
  6. ↑ "Government of Canada and Mitsubishi Motor Sales of Canada partner to conduct all-electric vehicle trials". Transport Canada. 2010-10-20. Archived from the original on 2010-10-24. Retrieved 2011-01-12.
  7. ↑ Ian Palmer (2012-03-14). "2012 Mitsubishi i-MiEV gains traction in Canada". CarPages.ca. Archived from the original on 2013-10-13. Retrieved 2012-03-20.
  8. ↑ Michael Bettencourt (2011-10-17). "Cheapest fully electric vehicle coming to Canada soon". The Globe and Mail . Retrieved 2011-10-24.
  9. ↑ "First Nissan Leaf EV Arrives In Canada". Nissan in the News. 2011-07-29. Archived from the original on 2012-03-24. Retrieved 2011-07-31.
  10. ↑ Nissan Canada (2011-09-23). "Nissan Canada delivers first 100% electric Nissan LEAF to Canadian consumer". PR Newswire. Retrieved 2011-11-05.
  11. ↑ Nissan Canada (2011-10-06). "Nissan Canada Delivers British Columbia's First 100% Electric Nissan LEAF to Retail Customer". Canada Newswire. Retrieved 2011-11-05.
  12. ↑ "Chevrolet Volt handily outselling Nissan LEAF in Canada". Auto North. 2011-12-13. Archived from the original on 2012-01-04. Retrieved 2011-12-13.
  13. 1 2 3 4 5 Klippenstein, Matthew (2015-02-06). "Plug-in electric car sales in Canada, January 2015". Green Car Reports. Retrieved 2015-02-07.Estimated sales for Ford Energi models. Tesla Model S, Smart ED and the other figures with yellow background from IHS data.
  14. 1 2 3 "Nissan Leaf Sales Figures". Good Car Bad Car. January 2016. Retrieved 2016-06-19.
  15. ↑ "Tesla Model S Sales Figures". Good Car Bad Car. January 2015. Retrieved 2015-02-07.
  16. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 Klippenstein, Matthew (February 2016). "Canadian Plug-in Electric Vehicle Sales". Green Car Reports. Retrieved 2016-02-07.Tesla Model S sales figures from IHS data.
  17. ↑ Klippenstein, Matthew (2016-01-20). "Plug-in electric car sales in Canada, December 2015: Tesla Model S-Capades". Green Car Reports. Retrieved 2016-06-19.Estimated sales for Ford Energi models. Tesla Model S, Smart ED and the other figures with yellow background from IHS data.
  18. ↑ Bubbers, Matt (2016-04-06). "Current green cars with biggest rebates as governments sweeten deals". The Globe and Mail . Retrieved 2016-06-19.
  19. ↑ Millikin, Mike (2016-03-18). "Renault Twizy 40 arrives in Canada". Green Car Congress . Retrieved 2016-03-20.
  20. 1 2 Stevens, Matthew (2016-02-09). "Electric Vehicle Sales in Canada: 2015 Final Numbers". Fleetcarma.com. Retrieved 2016-02-28. See table "Total Canadian EV fleet" and graph "EVs in Canada by Model"
  21. 1 2 Klippenstein, Matthew (2016-06-14). "Plug-in Electric Car Sales in Canada, May 2016: Canada crosses 20,000 cars with plugs". Green Car Reports. Retrieved 2016-06-14.
  22. 1 2 "Chevrolet Volt Sales Figures". Good Car Bad Car. January 2016. Retrieved 2016-06-19.
  23. ↑ "Electric Vehicle Sales in Canada: Q1 2017". Fleetcarma.com.
  24. ↑ "Mitsubishi i MiEV Sales Figures". Good Car Bad Car. January 2015. Retrieved 2016-06-19. A total of 23 units were sold in 2011, 196 in 2012, 168 in 2013, 109 in 2014, and 121 in 2015.
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