New motor vehicle registrations, 2019
Archived Content
Information identified as archived is provided for reference, research or recordkeeping purposes. It is not subject to the Government of Canada Web Standards and has not been altered or updated since it was archived. Please "contact us" to request a format other than those available.
Released: 2020-07-24
There were 1,892,001 new motor vehicles registered in Canada in 2019, down 86,561 from 2018, the second consecutive yearly decline. Despite this decline, new registrations remain 55,462 higher than five years earlier.
New motor vehicle manufacturing and sales have been among the hardest-hit sectors in the first three months of the COVID-19 pandemic, and new registrations are projected to fall again in 2020.
New registrations for gasoline-powered (-5.0%) and diesel-powered (-17.6%) vehicles both declined in 2019.
New multipurpose vehicles (a category that includes sport utility vehicles and crossovers) continued to be the most popular motor vehicle type registered in Canada, up 1.5% to 906,039 in 2019. New registrations of pick up trucks rose 1.0% to 393,556 in 2019, while passenger cars (-15.9%) and vans (-10.7%) both declined.
New registrations of plug-in hybrid electric vehicles (PHEVs) fell 5.7% to 19,908 in 2019, the first decline on record.
Conversely, there were more new registrations for full battery electric vehicles (BEVs) (+37.7%) and hybrid electric vehicles (+39.6%).
More zero-emission vehicles registered on the strength of battery electric vehicles
On May 1, 2019, the Government of Canada launched the Incentive for Zero-Emission Vehicles national rebate program, offering Canadians a rebate of up to $5,000 with the purchase of a zero-emission vehicle (ZEV). ZEVs, a category comprised of full BEVs and PHEVs, increased 16.7% from 2018 to 50,962 in 2019.
Passenger cars continued to be the most popular ZEV type registered in 2019, increasing 13.5% from 2018 to 37,835, followed by multipurpose vehicles (+41.2% to 12,562).
Nearly half of all new zero-emission vehicles were registered in Quebec
More new ZEVs were registered in every province in 2019 except Ontario. Nearly half (25,037) of all new ZEV registrations in 2019 were in Quebec, up 41.1% from 2018. British Columbia (+88.8%) reported the second-highest number of new ZEV registrations in 2019.
Ontario (-48.5%) was the only province with fewer new ZEV registrations in 2019, following a 94.2% year-over-year increase in 2018. The last ZEV eligible for the GreenON rebate program was registered in September 2018. Excluding Ontario, total new ZEV registrations increased 55.9% in 2019.
Note to readers
Estimates for Newfoundland and Labrador, Nova Scotia and Alberta are currently unavailable because of contractual limitations of the existing data sharing agreement.
This survey represents the registration of new motor vehicles within the provinces and territories in a given year.
Estimates for British Columbia include the territories.
Products
Statistics Canada has released the New Motor Vehicle Registrations Data Visualization Tool dashboard, an interactive tool that allows users to view new electrical vehicle trends at the provincial and national levels.
For more information on energy in Canada, please visit the Canadian Energy Information Portal. For regular updates, please visit the Canadian Centre for Energy Information website and follow #energynews on social media.
Contact information
For more information, or to enquire about the concepts, methods or data quality of this release, contact us (toll-free 1-800-263-1136; 514-283-8300; STATCAN.infostats-infostats.STATCAN@canada.ca) or Media Relations (613-951-4636; STATCAN.mediahotline-ligneinfomedias.STATCAN@canada.ca).
- Date modified: