Electric vehicle sales in Canada grew by more than a third in the first half of this year but currently lag behind the rest of the world.

A report on global electric vehicle sales issued by research firm BloombergNEF at the United Nations climate talks in Egypt on Thursday stated that battery-powered, electric, and hybrid passenger cars account for nearly one in every eight cars sold worldwide between January and June. This compares to one in every 11 during the same period last year.

The total sales for this period reached 4.3 million, a 70 percent increase from 2021. BloombergNEF said it is on track to reach 10.6 million cars by the end of December, which would be 61 percent more than in 2021.

Between January and June, 56 percent of global sales occurred in China, 28 percent in Europe, and 11 percent in the United States.

Canada, representing about 1.5 percent of all global car sales, was home to less than one percent of all electric vehicle sales, with the BloombergNEF report noting that Canada is among the countries "catching up" with electric vehicles.

Additionally, data from Statistics Canada showed that electric vehicles accounted for one in every 14 new vehicles registered in the first half of this year, compared to one in every 20 vehicles the previous year.

Electric vehicle sales set a six-month record in Canada by selling nearly 56,000 cars this year, a 35 percent increase compared to the previous year. However, this does not align with global growth.

Canada aims to have 60 percent of all new cars electric by 2030 and 100 percent by 2035.

Based on average new vehicle registrations, total electric vehicles need to grow from 55,600 to about 480,000 over six months to reach the 60 percent target.

The EY report said charging infrastructure and the high cost of electric vehicles are hindering Canada, as the Canadian Automobile Association lists 80 battery electric vehicle models with an average price of $82,000.

Furthermore, Kingston said government discounts on electric vehicles should be higher. Canada offers up to $5,000 off the cost of electric vehicles with a base price not exceeding $55,000.

In the same context, Quebec and British Columbia have regional discounts stacked on top of that, and advocates and experts say it is no coincidence that those provinces also have the highest sales.

British Columbia, where one in every six cars registered between January and June was electric, is the only jurisdiction in Canada exceeding the global sales mark of 13 percent.

It is followed by Quebec at 11.4 percent, but there is a significant drop in third place in Ontario, where 5.5 percent of new car registrations between January and June were electric.

Ontario received a rebate until 2018, after which sales slowed down.