Canadian consumers registered 426,872 new motor vehicles in the first quarter of 2025, representing a 2.9% increase over the same quarter in 2024 but a 3.8% decline from the final quarter of last year, according to newly released figures by Statistics Canada.
Driving the year-over-year growth were vans, which surged by 23.3% in registrations. Pickup trucks followed with a 9.8% increase, and multipurpose vehicles edged up by 2.6%. Passenger cars, however, continued their downward trend with a significant 10.6% drop in new registrations.
Multipurpose vehicles remain the preferred choice for Canadian drivers, accounting for 63.5% of all new vehicle registrations. Pickup trucks comprised 20.6%, while passenger cars and vans made up 11.9% and 4.0%, respectively, explained Statistics Canada.
Hybrid Electric Vehicles See Surge, While Battery Electrics Stall
Hybrid electric vehicles posted a strong performance, with new registrations soaring by 54.1% compared to Q1 2024. Diesel-powered vehicles also saw a notable rise of 31.5%. But not all categories were on the rise—battery electric vehicles declined sharply by 26.2%, and plug-in hybrids fell by 14.4%. Even gasoline-powered vehicles saw a slight drop of 0.4%.
First Year-Over-Year Drop in Zero-Emission Vehicle Registrations Since COVID-19
Zero-emission vehicle (ZEV) registrations hit a bump in the road during Q1 2025. A total of 37,299 ZEVs were registered, representing 8.7% of all new motor vehicle registrations. This marks a 23.1% decrease year-over-year and the first such decline since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, noted Statistics Canada.
The drop was most pronounced in Quebec, where new ZEV registrations plummeted by 50.8%. This coincided with the province’s temporary suspension of ZEV purchase subsidies from February 1 to March 31, 2025. Given that Quebec accounted for 54.4% of Canada’s new ZEV registrations in 2024, the impact on national totals was significant.
Statistics Canada said British Columbia also recorded a decline of 11.5% in ZEV registrations, while Ontario bucked the trend with an 8.9% increase.
There were also positive gains in several smaller provinces. Manitoba led the pack with a 52.6% increase in ZEV registrations, followed by New Brunswick (+41.9%), Nova Scotia (+33.2%), Prince Edward Island (+19.4%), and Saskatchewan (+12.8%).
Retail and automotive stakeholders will be closely watching how these trends evolve, particularly as policy shifts and consumer preferences continue to shape Canada’s vehicle market.
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