Canadians registered 541,566 new motor vehicles in the second quarter, up 5.9% from the second quarter of 2024 and an increase of 26.9% from the first quarter of 2025. Despite concerns over automobile tariffs, the second quarter of 2025 marked the highest number of new quarterly registrations since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic.
All vehicle types saw an increase in new registrations in the second quarter compared with the previous year. New registrations for vans (+29.0%) saw the largest increase, followed by multipurpose vehicles (+6.8%), pickup trucks (+2.5%) and passenger cars (+1.0%).
Among fuel types, new registrations for hybrid electric vehicles increased 60.7% in the second quarter compared with the same period one year earlier, continuing their trend of solid year-over-year growth. New registrations for diesel-powered vehicles (+15.8%) and gasoline-powered vehicles (+5.6%) also increased, while new registrations for battery electric vehicles (-39.2%) and plug-in hybrid electric vehicles (-2.2%) decreased compared with the previous year.
Share of registrations of new zero-emission vehicles remains at over 8% of all new registrations
In the second quarter, 46,366 new zero-emission vehicles (ZEVs) were registered, a decrease of 29.5% compared with the same period one year earlier. ZEVs accounted for 8.6% of all new motor vehicle registrations in the second quarter. This share was similar to the share of new registrations in the previous quarter (8.7%), but marks a stark difference with the fourth quarter of 2024, when ZEVs surged to 18.3% of all new registrations.
New zero-emission vehicle registrations continue to fall as rebates dry up
Quebec's ZEV rebate program (Roulez vert) was reinstated on April 1, 2025, but with lower financial incentives than in 2024. At the same time, Quebec experienced a 38.1% year-over-year decline in new ZEV registrations in the second quarter of 2025. British Columbia, which halted its ZEV rebate program (Go Electric) in May, saw a decrease in new ZEV registrations of 27.6% compared with the previous year. However, it is worth noting that this marks the fourth consecutive quarter of year-over-year declines in new ZEV registrations for the province.
Prince Edward Island (-30.6%), Ontario (-18.6%), Nova Scotia (-14.1%), Saskatchewan (-11.3%) and Manitoba (-4.6%) experienced decreases in new ZEV registrations in the second quarter compared with the previous year. Meanwhile, ZEV registrations increased slightly in New Brunswick (+1.6%), perhaps reflecting the impacts of the federal ZEV rebate program, which was paused earlier this year.
Note to readers
Estimates for Newfoundland and Labrador 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.
With the release of the data for the first quarter of 2025, table 20-10-0024-01 has been archived. New registrations by fuel and vehicle type by geographic level are now available in the table 20-10-0025-01.
Contact information
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