Electric vehicle interest drops from last year, report says

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Interest in electric vehicles has taken a dip this year, according to a report by AutoTrader.

This year, 56% of Canadians were looking for an electric vehicle as their next car, compared to 68% last year.

“While interest has dipped slightly, the EV movement isn’t just a trend, it’s the direction the whole industry is moving,” said Baris Akyurek, Vice President, Insights and Intelligence at AutoTrader.

“Last year the federal government made a significant commitment to support this direction, setting a mandate for at least 20% of car sales to be EVs by 2026. We don’t see this interest going away anytime soon.”

Interest in electric vehicles has softened following last year’s spike in car shopper demand because of record high gas prices.

Electric vehicle searches at AutoTrader are also down 32% in March 2023 compared to the same time last year.

“However, even with a decline, electric vehicle interest remains strong in Canada. One in 10 Canadians currently own an EV and over half who don’t already have one, are interested in owning one. Moreover, those who are interested in buying an EV have only become more keen to go green since last year, with their desire driven primarily by high gas prices as they look to curb their fuel dependency,” an AutoTrader release said.

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Those searching for an electric vehicle were most interested in a Tesla.

Other top searches include the Ford F-150 Lightning, Honda CR-V Hybrid, BMW i4, and BMW iX.