THE ELECTRIC GENERATIONS
A recent study from Experian Automotive shows that Generation X and Millennials tend to buy more electric vehicles (EVs) than Baby Boomers. Experian’s fourth quarter 2023 Automotive Market Trends report noted that, in 2023, 9.4 percent of new vehicles purchased by Gen X were electric. Gen X also purchased the most new vehicles of any generation over the year, as well as the most EVs in total when looking at comparative total vehicle data. Millennials, meanwhile, were close behind in terms of total EV sales with 10.2 percent of new vehicles purchased in 2023 being electric. Comparatively, only 5.9 percent of new vehicles purchased by Baby Boomers, and only 6.6 percent of new vehicles purchased by Gen Z were electric.
AN ELECTRIFYING FIRST
For the first time ever, more than 10 percent of all new vehicles registered in Canada during the past year were zero-emission vehicles (ZEV), including purely electric EVs and plug-in hybrid (PHEV) models. According to Statistics Canada, the exact proportion of ZEV registrations in 2023 is 10.8 percent or 184,578 of a total 1.7 million. Of all the provinces, British Columbia led with 20.2 percent of new vehicle registrations last year being ZEVs. Quebec came second at 18.6 percent with 77,083 ZEVs registered, accounting for over 40 percent of the national total. In Ontario, where no provincial rebates are available, ZEV uptake only reached a rise of 7.6 percent in 2023.
AN ELECTRIC CUTBACK
Quebec’s National Assembly recently announced in a 2024 to 2025 budget meeting that it plans to extinguish the Roulez Vert electric vehicle (EV) rebate program by 2027.Currently, Quebec offers the most generous provincial rebate in the country at $7,000 for battery electric vehicles (BEVs). This amount is set to decrease over the next three years to $4,000 in 2025; while eligible plug-in hybrid vehicles (PHEVs) will see subsidization cuts from $5,000 to $2,000. Following this, in 2026, the rebates will be further diminished, becoming $2,000 for BEVs and $1,000 for PHEVs. Then, on January 1, 2027, the rebates will be wiped out completely. Despite these cutbacks, drivers in Quebec will still have an option of getting financial assistance for a time following the cutoff dates. Namely, the Quebec budget documentation specifies that “(electric vehicles) will continue to be eligible for the $5,000 rebate from the federal government until March 31, 2025, or until the exhaustion of funds.”
