New motor vehicle registrations, first quarter 2026
Released: 2026-06-11
Canadians registered 397,601 new motor vehicles in the first quarter, a decrease of 6.9% from the first quarter of 2025 and a decrease of 3.7% from the fourth quarter of 2025.
Among vehicle types, new registrations for vans (+4.5%) experienced the sole growth in the first quarter of 2026. Meanwhile, pickup trucks (-11.5%), passenger cars (-11.0%) and multipurpose vehicles (-5.3%) declined compared with the first quarter of 2025.
In terms of fuel type, only zero-emission vehicles (ZEVs) saw growth in new registrations in the first quarter of 2026, with those of plug-in hybrid electric vehicles increasing by 22.9% and those of battery electric vehicles increasing by 12.9%. In contrast, new registrations of diesel-powered vehicles (-25.8%), gasoline-powered vehicles (-9.2%) and hybrid electric vehicles (-0.5%) decreased compared with the first quarter of 2025.
New zero-emission vehicle registrations experience first year-over-year growth since the fourth quarter of 2024 as federal rebates return
On February 16, 2026, the federal government launched the Electric Vehicle Affordability Program. In the same quarter, 43,113 new ZEVs were registered, representing 10.8% of all new motor vehicle registrations during the quarter and an increase of 15.8% relative to the first quarter of 2025. This growth marks the first year-over-year increase since the fourth quarter of 2024, when both federal and provincial ZEV rebates were set to expire in early 2025.
Among provinces, new ZEV registrations increased year over year in Quebec (+42.1%), Manitoba (+36.8%), Saskatchewan (+22.1%), Ontario (+5.0%) and British Columbia (0.7%) in the first quarter of 2026. In contrast, New Brunswick (-36.6%), Nova Scotia (-22.8%) and Prince Edward Island (-22.5%) experienced decreases compared with the first quarter of 2025.
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 quarter.
With the release of the data for the first quarter of 2025, table 20-10-0024-01 has been archived. New motor vehicle registrations by fuel type, vehicle type and geographic level are now available in table 20-10-0025-01.
Products
The "New motor vehicle registrations: Quarterly data visualization tool," an interactive tool that allows users to compare and analyze new motor vehicle registration data by fuel type and geography, is now available online.
The "Interactive map of new zero-emission vehicle registrations," which provides current and historical data on new zero-emission vehicle registrations, by geographic level, is now available online.
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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