The Tesla Model 3 Rear-Wheel Drive (RWD) is back on Canada’s iZEV rebate list, and customers are taking advantage of the $5,000 rebate in droves. In March the electric sedan was the most popular rebate-eligible zero-emission vehicle (ZEV) in Canada, with nearly three times as many sales as the next closest competitor. The resurgence of the Model 3 RWD also helped overall ZEV sales in Canada rise to an all-time high in March.
According to the latest data from Transport Canada, there were a total of 9,794 deliveries of rebate-eligible ZEVs in Canada last month, a figure that is more than the totals of the first two months of the year combined. It is also a new all-time record for the iZEV program, breaking the previous monthly record by several thousand units, reports Automotive News Canada.
Leading the way was Tesla with 2,695 deliveries of the Model 3 RWD in March. That is a 161% increase from February’s 1,030 deliveries, the first full month in which the Model 3 RWD was eligible for the rebate after the mid-January price cut brought it below the $55,000 threshold.
The next most popular EV was the Chevy Bolt EUV, which will be discontinued later this year, with a mere 975 deliveries in comparison. In third and fourth place were the Hyundai Kona and IONIQ 5 with 614 and 504 deliveries respectively. In fifth was the VW ID.4 (453), followed by the Toyota bZ4X (296).
iZEV incentives by BEV
| March | February | 2023 YTD | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Tesla Model 3 | 2,695 | 1,030 | 3,726 |
| Chevrolet Bolt EUV | 975 | 517 | 1,961 |
| Hyundai Kona | 614 | 325 | 1,280 |
| Hyundai Ioniq 5 | 504 | 254 | 1,001 |
| Volkswagen ID.4 | 453 | 246 | 1,107 |
| Toyota bZ4X | 296 | 119 | 782 |
| Nissan Leaf | 260 | 65 | 419 |
| Chevrolet Bolt | 212 | 182 | 602 |
| Polestar 2 | 208 | 163 | 573 |
| Nissan Ariya | 183 | 88 | 273 |
In terms of brands, Tesla’s 2,695 deliveries of the Model 3 were more than twice as many as Hyundai’s cumulative 1,239 deliveries of the Kona and IONIQ 5. Chevy was close behind in third with 1,187 deliveries, followed by Toyota (933), Mitsubishi (809 deliveries of the Outlander PHEV) and Volkswagen (454).
iZEV incentives by brand
| March | February | 2023 YTD | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Tesla | 2,695 | 1,030 | 3,726 |
| Hyundai | 1,239 | 591 | 2,438 |
| Chevrolet | 1,187 | 704 | 2,563 |
| Toyota | 933 | 305 | 1,897 |
| Mitsubishi | 809 | 495 | 1,911 |
| Volkswagen | 454 | 247 | 1,109 |
| Nissan | 443 | 153 | 692 |
| Kia | 385 | 110 | 646 |
| Jeep | 296 | 197 | 720 |
| Polestar | 208 | 163 | 573 |
| Volvo | 207 | 225 | 575 |
| Audi | 191 | 86 | 452 |
| Subaru | 152 | 94 | 350 |
| BMW | 149 | 82 | 331 |
| Chrysler | 145 | 33 | 283 |
Looking at the geographical breakdown of who is purchasing all these ZEVs, Quebec is on top accounting for a little more than 49% of all iZEV rebates claimed in March. British Columbia was second with 2,464 rebates claimed, or 25%. Ontario was third with 1,924 rebates claimed (19.6%), but the numbers drop off a cliff from there, with Alberta in fourth with 236 rebates claimed, or just 2.4% of the total.
iZEV incentives by province
| March | February | 2023 YTD | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Canada | 9,794 | 4,792 | 19,305 |
| Quebec | 4,815 | 2,131 | 9,383 |
| British Columbia | 2,464 | 1,166 | 4,710 |
| Ontario | 1,924 | 1,141 | 3,924 |
| Alberta | 236 | 167 | 541 |
| Nova Scotia | 96 | 44 | 202 |
| New Brunswick | 77 | 45 | 162 |
| Manitoba | 65 | 35 | 138 |
| Saskatchewan | 51 | 20 | 91 |
| Newfoundland and Labrador | 32 | 21 | 82 |
| Prince Edward Island | 26 | 16 | 54 |
| Yukon | 7 | 6 | 17 |
| Northwest Territories | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| Nunavut | 0 | 0 | 0 |
These numbers will look significantly different over the next few months, and Tesla’s lead will only extend further over the competition. Last month a new Model Y RWD was added to Tesla’s online configurator in Canada that was priced below the SUV rebate threshold of $60,000. That triggered the Model Y Long Range at $69,990 to also became eligible for the rebate, meaning Tesla’s most popular car, in two different variants, is now eligible for both federal and provincial level rebates. Quebec customers are the biggest winners as they can get a total of $12,000 off their Model Y purchase.
