These days, Canadians would rather drive a 25-year-old Civic with a hockey-taped bumper than buy a Tesla.
Driving the news: Tesla’s fortunes in Canada have shifted dramatically in the first half of the year, with vehicle registrations falling by 67% nationwide. Québec, which is Canada’s EV adoption leader, saw an 85% decline in sales from late 2024 — the steepest drop of any province.
- Tesla has suffered from a combination of government EV rebates being pulled and its CEO, Elon Musk, really pissing off potential car buyers in Canada.
Why it matters: Tesla’s struggles are a symptom of a larger trend: Canadians just aren’t buying EVs. In fact, only 8% of new cars sold here in May were electric, down by a third from last year and well below the global average of 25%.
Zoom out: The sales slump is raising questions about Ottawa’s zero-emission vehicle mandate, which requires 20% of all new car sales to be electric by 2026 and 100% by 2035.
- Automakers are lobbying Ottawa to ditch the mandate. They argue that, given the low demand, it will only hurt sales at a time when they’re already reeling from U.S. tariffs.
Bottom line: The only way Canadians are going to make the switch to EVs is if they become significantly cheaper. Without new rebates or low-cost options like China’s BYD, that won’t be the case for a while.—LA
