During the summer months of 2019, the Vancouver Tesla store was reportedly delivering upwards of 130 vehicles per day to new customers. Those numbers have now been confirmed by the B.C. Ministry of Energy, Mines and Petroleum Resources, who report today that BC has the highest number of EV sales per capita in North America.
Since the first EV’s were brought into BC in November 2009 (3 Mitsubishi iMiEV) there are now more than 31,200 light-duty EV’s on the road around the province. Sales of EV’s in 2019 have sky-rocketed, making up 9% of all light-duty vehicle (ICE and EV) sales in the province. That more than doubles the 2018 rate of 4%. Across Canada, EV sales make up 3.5% of all passenger vehicles sales.
As the number of EV sales continue to climb, the charging infracture has kept pace as well. In BC, there are now more than 1,700 charging stations, as well as Tesla’s network of 14 Superchargers, with another 4 with permits or already under construction, and another 9 planned, many for the southern route in BC along Highway 3 (check out our Supercharger map of all locations across Canada).
It’s not surprising that BC EV sales are #1 in North Amerca. The province is only one of two in Canada (Quebec is the other) that offers an additional $3,000 CEVforBC incentive on top of the federal iZEV rebate of $5,000. In the first 9 months of 2019, Tesla Model 3’s made up nearly half of all applications for the BC rebate, according to the Vancouver Sun. There are also additional incentives for installing EV chargers in your home, including Tesla’s Wall Charger.
