Canada's average used car sold for $34,255 in May, back up to where prices sat last fall.
A few factors contributed to the lifted the average. SUVs rising to almost 63% of sales, the largest share we've ever recorded, and gasoline and electric vehicles recovering price they had given up in April.
Electric vehicles moved the opposite way on volume. Depleted supply from a hot start to the spring resulted in EV share of sales falling in May.
Ontario posted the biggest monthly price gain, rising 2.2% to an average of $34,739. Over twelve months Ontario is up 5.3%, the strongest of the major markets and the clearest reason the national number moved from a provincial perspective.
Alberta and British Columbia stayed the priciest provinces, averaging $37,254 and $37,483. Alberta climbed 1.0% on the month and BC edged up 0.5%. Both markets ride higher on their vehicle mix and steady regional demand.
Saskatchewan fell hardest, down 3.0% to $36,727, with New Brunswick close behind at a 2.3% drop to $29,905. Atlantic Canada remains the most affordable corner of the country: Prince Edward Island, Newfoundland and Labrador, and New Brunswick all averaged below $30,500. Quebec sat at $30,141, up 1.0% from April and 2.5% on the year.
Quebec and BC matter for EV shoppers too. Both provinces drew down their used EV supply sharply through spring, which helps explain why the national EV inventory ran thinner and pricier by the end of May.
May's $34,255 average traces a familiar spring shape: a dip in April, a recovery in May, and a landing close to last fall's level. March came in at $34,087, April slipped to $33,804, and May finished at $34,255.
Year-over-year, prices crept up. May 2026 runs about 2.9% above May 2025. But the real shift is happening underneath the headline numbers. The mix of body styles and fuel types are what's causing the most notable movement in pricing.
The average used EV jumped 7.3% in May to $40,651, and a thinning supply drove the move. By the end of May, active EV inventory was down 30.9% from its late-February peak. Over the same stretch, hybrid supply rose 5.4% and gasoline vehicle supply rose 9.2%. Spring is normally the time when new inventory enters the used market, supply grows, and sales follow. Hybrids and gasoline vehicles followed this familiar trend, but the EV shelf emptied while the others stocked up.
March brought a flood of new EV listings, EV prices dipped, and EV sales rose. April marked the high point for EV sales, at 5.7% of all used vehicles sold. But sales outpaced new listings and EV supply quickly dropped, setting us up for a competitive market going into the summer months.
No single factor explains the $2,764 climb in the average EV price from April to May. Province mix and model-year mix each added a few hundred dollars, but each accounts for only a slice. The dwindled supply carries the rest: the cheapest and best-priced EVs sell quickest, leaving fewer cars and less competitive pricing from remaining options.
Quebec and British Columbia show the supply drawdown most directly. Active EV supply in Quebec fell 32.1% between the end of March and the end of May. In BC it fell 27.1%. Ontario tightened more gently, down 17.8%. All three provinces also saw their weekly EV share of sales cool from spring highs, which fits a picture of EV inventory getting absorbed rather than skipped over.
The active-inventory figure comes with a wrinkle. The EVs still listed on May 31 skew older than the ones that sold during the month. Among EVs still on the lot at month end, 15.5% had sat for 180 days or longer. Among EVs that sold in May, only 7.2% had been listed that long. Every fuel type shows some version of this fast-sell, slow-stay split, but EVs show it most sharply. The leftover pool reads expensive partly because the affordable EVs have already been bought.
Buyer behaviour on clutch.ca picked up through spring. EV search share climbed from roughly 2.7% of searches in late January to a peak near 4.4% in early April, then eased to about 3.9% by late May. Hybrid search held firmer, hovering near 8.8% into the end of the month.
Beneath the rising average, used EVs cost less than they did a year ago. The total EV average is essentially flat year-over-year, up just $5. Compare the same models, though, and EV prices have dropped about $4,750 since last May. The average holds flat because newer, pricier EVs now make up more of the used mix, while the specific cars buyers shop for have gotten cheaper.
The threshold numbers make that concrete. In May 2025, 47.1% of used EVs sold under $35,000. This May, 51.0% did. The under-$40,000 share grew from 60.0% to 64.5%. Hybrid affordability improved at those same price points, up roughly 4 to 6 percentage points on the year. Gasoline went the other way: the share of gas vehicles under $35,000 slipped 1.5 points from a year ago, and the under-$40,000 share fell 2.0 points.
May's supply crunch did pull those EV threshold shares back from April's highs. Measured against last year, though, the used EV is a more reachable purchase than it was twelve months ago.
SUVs took 62.9% of used car sales in May, a new all-time high for SUV share in Canada. That climbed from 61.9% in both March and April, part of a years-long shift away from the sedans and hatchbacks that once dominated. Canadians keep choosing SUVs, and May extended the run.
The mix effect carries weight. When SUV share rises, the national average rises with it, because SUVs price above cars, which are losing ground. Our April-to-May breakdown credits SUVs with about $451 of the national price gain, while cars and trucks landed flat to slightly negative once mix is accounted for. Car share slipped a little, and truck share fell to 14.5% as the winter sales spike subsides into spring.
Truck prices themselves rose, up roughly $486 from April on average. Fewer trucks sold, so the net effect on the national number came out negative even with prices up. Truck shoppers should expect firm pricing despite the smaller share of overall sales.
Used EVs keep getting more accessible year-over-year, even with May's average price up month-over-month. Compare the same models and the average EV cost about $4,750 less this May than last. The threshold data agrees: 38.3% of May EVs sold under $30,000, up from 36.7% a year ago. Half of all used EVs now sell under $35,000, up from 47.1%. At the $40,000 mark, 64.5% qualify, against 60.0% last year.
Hybrids improved at those same thresholds. The share of hybrids under $35,000 rose about 4.4 percentage points on the year, and the under-$40,000 share rose 5.6 points. For shoppers not ready to commit to a full EV, hybrid pricing is trending the same way.
Gasoline vehicles bucked this trend. Fewer gas vehicles sold under $35,000 and $40,000 than a year ago, with steady gas-SUV demand keeping those segments firm.
Lower prices do not erase the homework that comes with a used EV. Charging access near home and work, real-world range through a Canadian winter, battery health on an older pack, and whether the car fits your daily driving all still apply. On sticker price alone, though, the used EV window is more open than it has been in years.
The Honda CR-V led all used vehicles in May, followed by the Nissan Rogue, Ford F-150, Honda Civic, and Toyota RAV4.
Among electric models, the Tesla Model 3 led the way at an average of $28,122, down 13.2% year-over-year.
The Toyota RAV4 Hybrid held a spot in the overall top 20 at $38,672, with the volume and slow depreciation that mark steady demand for mainstream hybrid SUVs.
The list stayed relatively steady from month to month. The year-over-year price moves carry more meaning: most of the top EVs run 7 to 16% cheaper than a year ago, while gasoline mainstays like the CR-V and RAV4 have held or gained value over the same span.
The Tesla Model 3, Canada's highest-volume used EV, now averages under $30,000 at $28,122, down 13.2% from a year ago. That drop pulls the most popular used EV into the same budget as many gas sedans and compact SUVs. The Model Y rounds out the Tesla picture: up 2.4% from April to $40,254 on a thinner supply, still 11.7% cheaper than last May.
The rest of the EV field is repricing too. The Hyundai Kona Electric averaged $27,639, down 11.2% on the year and under $30,000. The Toyota bZ4X fell 16.0% year-over-year to $30,846, just above that mark. The Ford Mustang Mach-E averaged $35,421, up 5.4% from April but 7.3% below last May, and the Volkswagen ID.4 followed the same line, firmer in May yet down 7.5% on the year. For buyers under $25,000, the Chevrolet Bolt EV at $20,693 stays one of the few EVs that consistently clears the bar.
The Chevrolet Equinox EV makes a useful contrast. At $41,002 it dropped 16.2% year-over-year, a steeper slide driven partly by newer-model turnover: earlier units depreciate while fresher inventory enters the used market at higher prices. Model-year mix can swing a single model's average even as like-for-like values fall.
Hybrids tell a steadier story. The Toyota RAV4 Hybrid averaged $38,579 on strong volume, down a modest 4.6% year-over-year, the kind of slow depreciation that comes with a lasting premium brand. The Jeep Wrangler 4xe went further the other way, off 17.9% to $40,768, among the sharper hybrid drops in the May data.
Two gasoline models anchor the mix story. The Toyota RAV4 averaged $33,215, up 7.4% year-over-year, and the Ford F-150 averaged $44,863, up 3.9%. Both show mainstream SUVs and trucks holding their pricing power while EVs depreciate around them.
What to Watch in June
The open question for June is whether used EV supply rebuilds after May's steep drawdown. Active EV inventory fell roughly 31% from February's peak, with Quebec and BC down the most. If fresh EV listings return in those provinces, some of May's price firmness could give back. If supply stays thin, EV averages likely hold near where they are now.
The more durable story for buyers is year-over-year depreciation, not the month-to-month average. If like-for-like EV pricing stays $4,000 to $5,000 below last year, used EVs can keep getting more affordable in practice even while the true average bounces around. The threshold shares under $30,000, $35,000, and $40,000 give shoppers a cleaner read than the average EV price.
The federal Electric Vehicle Affordability Program works on the used market slowly. It supports new EV purchases directly, and those cars feed the used market later through trade-ins, wider EV familiarity, and future supply. The effect is indirect and lagged, and it keeps building.
Chinese EV imports stay a residual-value wildcard. May arrivals from Tesla are in the market now, and the broader pricing effect will take months to years to surface in used sales.
The real wildcard is the price of gas going forward. If the current geopolitical turmoil sees resolution, we could see EV and hybrid demand wane. However, we believe the increase in EV and hybrid demand is here to stay.
SUV share at a record high also keeps an upward pull on the national average price. Even if comparable vehicles in some segments get cheaper, a country buying ever more SUVs will hold the headline number elevated.
About the Data
We're a Canadian used-car retailer, and this report comes from the vehicles bought and sold across the country. Our analysis covers used vehicles sold nationally, filtered to a standard model-year and mileage range that reflects typical retail purchases. National averages, fuel-type breakdowns, body-style shares, and provincial figures reflect completed sales for the month, not listing or asking prices.
Year-over-year and month-over-month comparisons use the same method across the reporting period. Activity figures show percentage changes in sales, not raw counts.
First-party platform signals, including search share and our own sales share, are specific to our used-car platform and read as directional indicators rather than national measures. Weekly listing and supply figures are directional as well, and may differ from the monthly sold-market method behind the headline numbers.
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