Vancouver Tops Canadian Cities in New Electric Vehicle Car Registrations

According to a new report by the Vancouver Sun, B.C. has the highest uptake of electric vehicles in North America, and in the Vancouver region, EV adoption is even higher (via Tesla North).

In 2020, 11 percent of new cars in the Vancouver Metro were accounted for by zero-emission vehicles (ZEVs), while ZEVs made up just 2.4% of Toronto vehicles and 3.5% across Canada.

In the City of Vancouver, the figure is even higher and falls between 12 and 17%. There were more new EVs registered in Metro Vancouver alone last year than in the whole province of Ontario, the report notes.

One of the major reasons for such levels of EV adoption in Vancouver is the $3,000 CAD British Columbia EV rebate, which can be added to the $5,000 CAD federal rebate offered by Canada’s government.

That works out to $8,000 CAD off the Tesla Model 3 Standard Range Plus, or an attractive $44,990 CAD (about $35,822 USD). The Model 3 and other Teslas in Vancouver are as common as Honda Civics–they’re everywhere.

The rebates come in addition to the bolstering of the charging network by the municipal government, as well as legislation requiring cleaner emissions and increased sale of EVs.

Last month, the federal government announced that all new car sales in Canada will be zero-emission vehicles by 2035.