Electric vehicle sales in Canada rose by more than a third in the first half of this year, but have not kept pace with the rest of the world.
Battery electric and plug-in hybrid passenger vehicles accounted for nearly eight percent of global sales between January and June, according to research firm BloombergNEF, which released a report on global electric vehicle sales on Thursday at the United Nations climate talks in Egypt. one-third.
This compares to one in 10 in the same period last year.
Total sales for the period reached 4.3 million, a 70% increase over 2021. BloombergNEF says they are on track to hit 10.6 million vehicles by the end of December, which would be a 61% increase over 2021.
China accounted for 56% of global sales between January and June, with Europe accounting for 28% and the US 11%.
Canada accounts for about 1.5% of total global car sales, but less than 1% of total EV sales.
BloombergNEF reports that Canada is one of the countries where EVs are “catching up.”
Electric vehicles accounted for one in 14 new vehicles registered in the first half of this year, compared with one in 20 in the same period last year, Statistics Canada data shows.
Sales of electric vehicles set a six-month record in Canada, with nearly 56,000 sold this year, up 35 per cent from the previous year.
But that has not kept pace with growth around the world.
Canada’s goal is to have 60 percent of all new cars electric by 2030 and 100 percent by 2035.
Based on average new car registrations, the total number of electric vehicles would have to grow from 55,600 to about 480,000 within six months to reach the 60% target.
Brian Kingston, president of the Canadian Association of Automobile Manufacturers, said the lack of public charging is holding back demand in Canada.
“We’re not currently a leader in EV readiness,” he said in an interview.
“If Canada is going to be a leader and really accelerate the adoption of electric vehicles, we have to get serious about getting ready.”
That view is supported by the annual Electric Vehicle Readiness Index released by global accounting firm Ernst & Young, which this year ranks Canada 13th out of 14 countries.
A year ago, Canada was No. 8.
High costs of charging infrastructure and electric vehicles are holding back growth in Canada, EY report says.
The Canadian Automobile Association lists 80 electric vehicles with an average price of $82,000.
Kingston said the government’s tax rebate for electric vehicles needs to be higher. Canada offers rebates of up to $5,000 for electric vehicles with a base price of $55,000 or less.
Provincial rebates in Quebec and British Columbia are stacked on top of this, and advocates and experts say it’s no coincidence that those provinces are also the provinces with the highest sales.
Almost one in six vehicles registered in British Columbia between January and June was electric, the only Canadian jurisdiction to surpass global sales by 13%.
Quebec followed with 11.4 per cent, but that was a big drop from third-placed Ontario, where 5.5 per cent of new cars registered between January and June were electric.
Ontario had a rebate until 2018, after which sales slowed.
— Mia Rabson, Canadian Press
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