Battery electrics drove the entire increase, reaching 6.2 per cent market share; new model offerings and higher gas prices get credit for the surge

New car registration totals for the first quarter of 2022 show electric vehicle uptake in Canada is not slowing down. Instead, it’s gathering speed.

According to London-based consulting firm IHS Markit, zero-emission vehicles (ZEV, which include battery electric and plug-in hybrid) made up 8.3 per cent of new vehicle registrations between Jan. 1 and March 31. That’s the equivalent of one out of every 12 vehicles.

By comparison, in the fourth quarter of 2021, by IHS data, the ZEV market share accounted for 6.5 per cent of registrations. Given that the Q4 figure itself reflected a gain from 5.6 per cent in Q3 of 2021, the short-term trend suggests a steepening curve.

“Inventory constraints, new BEV and PHEV entrants, and increased fuel prices have accelerated the uptake of BEV and PHEV vehicles in the Canadian market,” stated IHS Markit in its quarterly “Automotive Insights” report.

Battery electrics lead the way

Perhaps even more striking, the Q1 ZEV share increase was fueled entirely by growth in registrations of battery electric vehicles (BEV), which jumped to 6.2 per cent from 4.2 in Q4 2021. Plug-in hybrids (PHEVs), on the other hand, fell slightly in Q1 versus Q4.

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