What’s behind the hybrid surge

The electric shift is far from stalling, but seeing a different shift among consumers as hybrids take the lead and battery electric vehicles cool.

Speaking at AAPEX 2025 in Las Vegas, Experian executives told attendees that internal combustion engines still dominate the market, but the mix is changing in ways the aftermarket cannot ignore.

“In the last 12 months, for new retail registrations overall, your traditional ice vehicles, gas, diesel, still the lion’s share of the market,” observed Kirsten von Busch, director of product marketing at Experian Automotive.

But the share of ICE vehicles is dropping. She said that as BEV sales slow, plug-in hybrids and conventional hybrids are gaining ground.

“Where did that market share go? Well, all the others, so your plug-in electric vehicles, your hybrids — we’re seeing growth in that space.”

By alternative powertrain, Canadians’ preference for hybrids is clear, with it taking 16.9 per cent of market share, followed by battery electrics at 6.3 per cent and plug-in hybrids at 4.2 per cent.

She noted that when BEVs, plug in hybrids and hybrids are combined, the total electrified share of new registrations is now close to 30 per cent. She described it as a segment the aftermarket “has to pay attention to and really focus on.”

Experian’s data also show that adoption is not limited to the usual coastal hot spots.

From a parc perspective, EVs remain a small but important share of vehicles in operation.  Despite questions about charging, incentives and policy shifts, Experian’s numbers suggest many owners who try electrification stick with it.

Von Busch said 74.2 per cent of EV owners replace their EV with another EV, while a large share of hybrid and plug-in hybrid owners move up to full electric when they buy their next new vehicle.

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