Purchasing intentions dipped despite an rise in sales

Purchasing intentions dipped despite an rise in sales

Rewritten Article:

Hold onto your hats, 'cause the electric vehicle (EV) scene in Canada and Quebec hit a new high in 2024—but not everyone's ready to hop aboard. As the number of EV registrations soared, a recent survey by AutoHebdo revealed a downward trend in interest for these eco-friendly rides.

Last year, over a quarter of a million zero-emission vehicles (ZEVs), including electric vehicles and hybrids, were registered nationwide, according to Statistics Canada. That's about 15% of all new vehicle registrations across the country.

Quebec was the clear winner in the EV race, with an impressive 126,657 new ZEVs hitting the streets, a whopping 50% jump from the previous year. But, while sales are looking peachy, it seems the folks at AutoHebdo have been spotting a dip in enthusiasm for this electric endeavor since 2022.

So, what gives? Despite the surge in sales, people surveyed by AutoHebdo showed declining interest in EVs, with only 42% of non-EV owners open to buying an EV for their next vehicle—that's a drop from 68% in 2022.

"We're observing a significant increase in sales, but it's been three years straight that people we survey are less interested in buying an EV," said Benoit Laforce, AutoHebdo's exec VP of new vehicle solutions.

The enigmatic disconnect between purchases and purchasing interest is a riddle they're trying to wrap their heads around. Benoit suggests the uptick in EV sales might be due to consumers rushing to take advantage of government subsidies before they fade away.

As the Quebec government has slowly started to scale back its Roulez vert program and the federal government suspended the Zero-Emission Vehicle Incentives (iZEV) program, some fear the repercussions could mirror those seen in other countries that have axed subsidies.

In Germany, for example, EV sales dropped a staggering 68.8% between August 2024 and August 2023 after the subsidies disappeared.

Uncertainty abounds, as the extent of the impact of the phased-out incentives on the Canadian and Quebec markets is unknown. A recent AutoHebdo survey revealed that around two-thirds of non-EV owners who are considering an EV switch would be swayed by government incentives.

"The government should continue to lend a helping hand until EVs are as affordable as traditional vehicles," said Karim Zaghib, professor of Chemical Engineering and Materials at Concordia University and CEO of the Volt-age project. He's optimistic that by 2030, EVs will outshine traditional vehicles when it comes to price.

"We're making more batteries with iron and phosphate, which are cheap and easy to find," Zaghib explains. "We're also increasing energy density and reducing charging times."

With the Liberal government requiring 20% of all new passenger vehicles sold in Canada to be zero-emission by 2026, the average price of EVs in Canada is dropping while supply is skyrocketing. Data from AutoHebdo shows that the average price of a new electric vehicle was $66,542 in March 2025, a 5.8% decrease from the previous year. Second-hand EVs followed suit, with an average price of $44,075, a dip of 8.1% from the year prior.

"The impact of American car tariffs remains up in the air, but there's a wealth of affordable EVs on the AutoHebdo market," says a spokesperson for AutoHebdo.

Tesla owners are even considering parting ways with their whips, as the inventory of used Tesla vehicles has spiked by 74% since last year on AutoHebdo. But it seems the party might be coming to an end, as the Roulez vert program is set to wrap up on January 1, 2027, and it's still TBD what Ottawa will do with the iZEV program. The wild ride continues!

Notable Enrichment Insights to Consider:

• Economic uncertainty and higher upfront costs: Consumers are hesitant due to financial constraints despite government incentives.
• Charging infrastructure concerns: Concerns about range anxiety and the availability of charging stations remain a barrier.
• Shift in consumer preferences: There's a visible shift in consumer preferences towards plug-in hybrids over battery electric vehicles. This change in preference affects overall EV purchase intent.
• Regulatory mandates and market dynamics: The Canadian federal government's EV sales mandates, which favor battery electric vehicles, may not align with consumer preferences. This mismatch, combined with the supply-demand gap, impacts purchase intentions.
• Regional variability: While some provinces, like British Columbia and Quebec, have seen significant EV adoption, national trends show a decline in purchase intent. This variability highlights the role of regional factors, such as specific incentives and infrastructure, in shaping consumer behavior.

1. The declining interest in electric vehicles (EVs) among Canadian consumers, despite the impressive sales numbers, might be attributed to financial constraints and economic uncertainty, as some are hesitant to purchase EVs due to their upfront costs, even with government incentives.
2. Technology advancements in the field of environmental-science, such as the development of batteries made from iron and phosphate, and increases in energy density and charging times, could potentially address some of the financial and logistical barriers to EV adoption, making them more affordable and appealing to a broader market.

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