ONTARIO CHARGES AHEAD
Province overtakes Quebec as country’s leader in sales of electric vehicles
MONTREAL — Ontario wrestled the title from Quebec as the leading province for annual electric vehicle sales last year after spending tens of millions of dollars in subsidies.
According to data by Waterloobased FleetCarma, 7,477 battery and plug-in hybrid electric vehicles were sold in Canada’s most populous province.
That compared with 7,194 sold in Quebec, followed by 3,270 in British Columbia.
Electric Mobility Canada CEO Chantal Guimont said more generous Ontario rebates and the installation of more charging stations at work are helping the province to catch up.
“Quebec is pretty stable, but in Ontario the financial incentives of $14,000 are making a big difference,” she said in an interview.
Ontario’s sales increased 120 per cent from 2016, when increased rebates were offered. Quebec’s sales rose 44 per cent.
Despite Ontario’s growth, analysts predict electric vehicle sales will remain well short of Canada’s target of five per cent of overall vehicle sales in 2020. Industry analyst Dennis DesRosiers has said “the chances of meeting it aren’t low, they’re zero.”
Electric Mobility Canada wants Ottawa to eliminate the GST on electric vehicle sales.
She said the federal budget next week will offer an important signal about the government’s commitment to combat climate change by supporting the electrification of transportation.
There were a record 18,564 electric cars sold across Canada last year, up 68 per cent from 2016. Electric plug-in vehicle sales outpaced plug-in hybrids for the first time across the country. That was led by the Chevrolet Bolt and followed by Tesla models X and S. The Chevrolet Volt was again the most popular plugin electric vehicle.
Overall vehicle sales grew 4.8 per cent to a record 2.08 million last year. By December, electric vehicles accounted for 1.4 per cent of all sales. Quebec had the top percentage of electric cars sold, at 2.2 per cent of all vehicles in 2017, followed by B.C. at 1.9 per cent and Ontario at 1.6 per cent.
There were nearly 48,000 electric vehicles on Canada’s roads last year, up from 29,000 in 2016.