In the first quarter, Canadians registered 414,763 new motor vehicles, an increase of 16.6% from the same quarter in 2023 and a decrease of 3.1% from the fourth quarter of 2023.
Most vehicle types saw an increase in new registrations in the first quarter of 2024 when compared with one year earlier. In percentage terms, multi-purpose vehicles (+30.1%) saw the largest increase in new registrations, followed by vans (+10.6%) and passenger cars (+6.8%). The sole decrease among vehicle types was observed in pickup trucks (-8.2%), marking the first year-over-year quarterly decrease for this vehicle type after seven consecutive increases.
In the first quarter, new registrations of all fuel types increased from the same period last year, with the largest percentage increase registered in plug-in hybrid electric vehicles (PHEVs) (+86.9%) followed by hybrid electric vehicles (+52.4%), battery electric vehicles (BEVs) (43.3%), gasoline-powered vehicles (+10.3%) and diesel-powered vehicles (+8.5%).
Share of zero-emission vehicle registrations up from one year earlier
In the first quarter, there were 46,744 new zero-emission vehicles (ZEVs) registered, representing 11.3% of all new motor vehicle registrations. This marks an increase of 53.0% from the first quarter of 2023, when 30,555 ZEVs were registered, accounting for 8.6% of all new motor vehicle registrations.
Among ZEVs, 73.0% of new registrations in the first quarter of 2024 were BEVs and 27.0% were PHEVs. Multi-purpose vehicles continue to lead in ZEV vehicle types, accounting for 79.7% of new registrations. When compared with ZEV registrations from the same quarter of the previous year, registrations for multi-purpose vehicles (+87.8%) and pickup trucks (+16.3%) increased, while ZEV registrations for vans (-41.7%) and passenger cars (-13.3%) decreased.
Quebec continues to lead in zero-emission vehicle registrations
In the first quarter, Quebec registrations made up 47.6% of all ZEV registrations, followed by those in Ontario (23.3%) and British Columbia (21.1%). This marked an increase for Quebec from the 38.1% share reported in the first quarter of 2023, and a decrease for Ontario (from 27.7% in the first quarter of 2023) and British Columbia (from 26.3%).
More new ZEVs were registered in New Brunswick (+111.4%), Quebec (+90.7%), Manitoba (+71.4%), Saskatchewan (+40.1%), Prince Edward Island (+38.2%), Ontario (+29.0%) and British Columbia (+22.8%) in the first quarter of 2024 than one year earlier.
Tables
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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.
Reference
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).