New motor vehicle registrations, fourth quarter 2023
Released: 2024-03-12
New motor vehicle registrations, 2023
In 2023, there were 1,714,356 new motor vehicles registrations in Canada, a 13.4% increase from 2022. Ontario (677,043) continued to lead in total registrations in 2023, followed by Quebec (414,897) and British Columbia (210,666). The largest percentage increases were observed in Prince Edward Island (+19.5%), followed by British Columbia (+15.3%) and Ontario (+13.9%).
New registrations of multipurpose vehicles increased 20.8% in 2023 when compared with 2022. Multipurpose vehicles continued to be the preferred vehicle type of Canadians, comprising 59.7% of new motor vehicle registrations in 2023, up from 56.0% in 2022. For the fourth year in a row, pickup trucks were the second-preferred vehicle type of Canadians in 2023, with registrations increasing 6.5%. Despite declining in previous years, new registrations of vans increased by 28.1%. Meanwhile, new registrations of passenger cars declined by 3.8%.
Higher numbers of plug-in hybrid electric vehicles (PHEVs) (+80.5%), hybrid electric vehicles (+67.2%), battery-electric vehicles (BEVs) (+41.5%) and gasoline-powered vehicles (+7.1%) were registered in 2023, while diesel-powered vehicles (-1.7%) declined.
Zero-emission vehicles exceed 10% of new motor vehicle registrations
For the first time in 2023, zero-emission vehicles (ZEVs) accounted for just over 1 in 10 (10.8%) of all new motor vehicle registrations. This represents a 49.4% increase from 2022 and a 114.6% increase when compared with 2021. In 2023, most ZEVs (91.8%) were registered in Canada's three largest provinces, decreasing from 92.4% in 2022 and 93.4% in 2021. In 2023, among the three largest provinces, Quebec comprised 41.8% of all ZEV registrations, followed by Ontario (27.0%) and British Columbia (23.1%). In British Columbia, 20.2% of new motor vehicles registered were ZEVs. In Quebec, ZEVs represented 18.6% of all new motor vehicle registrations, and in Ontario, they represented 7.4%.
Among ZEVs, 75.6% of new registrations in 2023 were BEVs and 24.4% were PHEVs. Nearly three-quarters (73.6%) of ZEV registrations were multipurpose vehicles, representing an increase of 14.1 percentage points from 2022. Passenger cars represented 20.7% of new ZEV registrations in 2023, decreasing from 36.0% in 2022.
Share of gasoline-powered vehicle registrations continues to decrease
Gasoline-powered vehicles comprised 77.0% of all new motor vehicle registrations in 2023, decreasing from 81.5% in 2022, 86.0% in 2021 and 89.6% in 2020. Hybrid electric vehicles accounted for 7.9% of all new motor vehicle registrations in 2023, an increase from 5.4% in 2022. Diesel-powered vehicles made up 4.3% of new registrations in 2023, decreasing from 5.0% in 2022.
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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. However, they are included in the Canadian total.
This survey looks at registrations of new motor vehicles in the provinces and territories in a given year.
Estimates for British Columbia include the territories.
Products
The "New motor vehicle registrations: Quarterly data visualization tool," an interactive tool that allows users to compare and analyze new zero-emission motor vehicle registration data by fuel type and geography, is now available online.
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; infostats@statcan.gc.ca) or Media Relations (statcan.mediahotline-ligneinfomedias.statcan@statcan.gc.ca).
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