New motor vehicle registrations, third quarter 2021
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Released: 2022-01-26
Canadians registered 446,620 new motor vehicles in the third quarter of 2021, down 8.2% from the second quarter. This also represents a decline of 12.2% from the third quarter of 2020, with a peak of 508,642 new registrations, while in previous years new registrations peak in the second quarter. Dealerships were closed for half of the second quarter of 2020, as Canada dealt with the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic. Less new passenger cars (-10.0%), pickup trucks (-32.3%), multipurpose vehicles (-2.2%) and vans (-31.3%) were registered in the third quarter of 2021 compared with the same quarter in 2020.
Share of zero-emission vehicles continues to grow
Despite a lower number of total new motor vehicle registrations, new zero-emission vehicle (ZEV) registrations increased 38.5% compared with the third quarter of 2020. Within this group, the number of new plug-in hybrid electric vehicles (PHEV) registrations rose 72.8%, and new battery electric vehicles (BEV) registrations rose 25.7%. New ZEV registrations comprised 5.4% of new vehicle registrations in the third quarter of 2021.
Conversely, new registrations of vehicles with traditional internal combustion engines declined, with gasoline-powered vehicles declining 15.9% and diesel-powered vehicles declining 26.1%. In contrast, new hybrid electric vehicle registrations increased 61.7% compared with the third quarter of 2020.
Number of new zero-emission vehicle registrations increases in all provinces
Higher numbers of new ZEV were registered in each province in the third quarter of 2021 when compared with a year earlier. Quebec (+1,993) saw the largest increase in the number of new ZEV registrations, while Prince Edward Island (+229.6%) saw the largest percentage increase. More new ZEV were registered in New Brunswick (+175.8%), Saskatchewan (+72.4%), Manitoba (+92.1%), Ontario (+56.6%), and British Columbia (+43.5%) compared with the third quarter of 2020.
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," a new 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.
Geospatial quarterly data on new zero-emission motor vehicle registrations are now available on the Canadian Statistical Geospatial Explorer Hub, which is part of the series Statistics Canada – Data Visualization Products (71-607-X2020010).
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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