The federal government wants Canadians to switch to electric vehicles. Are they interested?

With electric vehicle sales in Canada breaking records every year, the demand is clear, say advocates of EVs.

"There is currently very high interest, and that interest is growing," said Louise Lévesque, director of policy at Electric Mobility Canada, a national industry association that works to advance electric transportation.

Environment Minister Steven Guilbeault last week unveiled the federal government's electric vehicle sales mandate regulations, which include a national target of 100 per cent zero-emission vehicle sales by 2035. In making his announcement, Guilbeault also noted how the Canadian marketplace is already experiencing "a rapid shift toward zero-emission vehicles."

But some observers say the market and demand for EVs is more nuanced, that data shows most Canadians still aren't particularly eager to buy one and that the targets laid out by Guilbeault might be difficult to achieve.

"If we have to get to 100 per cent of new car sales by 2035, the path we're on right now won't get us there," said Niel Hiscox, president of Clarify Group Inc., a Canadian-based automotive research and advisory firm.

"You can't make the transition if the cars aren't there, if they're not affordable."

Recent data shows a growth in electric vehicle sales. According to a Statistics Canada report this month, new zero-emission vehicles (ZEVs) made up 12.1 per cent of all new motor vehicles registered in the third quarter. That represented an increase from the third quarter of 2022, when ZEVs were 8.7 per cent of all motor-vehicle registrations.

In places like British Columbia and Quebec, new electric vehicles account for one in five sales. Meanwhile, there continue to be reports of waiting lists for some electric vehicles.

Yet total sales don't necessarily reflect the strength of the industry, say some analysts.

"In terms of actual numbers, sales are not flat," Hiscox said. "But what is happening is the rate of growth has dropped." 

Electric vehicles "are at record sales. Absolutely true," he said. "But bear in mind, we're starting from a very low base."

While there's growth in the market, it's just not growing as fast it was, he said.

Some recent surveys also appear to indicate a reluctance by Canadians to purchase electric vehicles. A recent study by AutoTrader suggested that EV purchase intention has declined.

It found that in 2023, only 56 per cent of car shoppers who did not own an EV were open to purchasing one for their next vehicle — down from 68 per cent the year prior. As well, online searches for EVs accounted for less than three per cent of overall searches on the auto market. Reasons listed for avoiding EVs included prices, interest rates and inflation.