Significantly more Canadians were driving zero-emissions vehicles in the first quarter compared with a year ago.

Statistics Canada says zero-emission vehicle registrations jumped 53 per cent in the first quarter year-over-year.

The federal agency says 46,744 new zero-emission vehicles were registered in the first quarter, making up 11.3 per cent of total new vehicle registrations.

The agency says battery electric cars made up 73 per cent of total zero-emission vehicle registrations, while plug-in hybrids were at 27 per cent.

Overall, the agency says new vehicle registrations were up 16.6 per cent year-over-year in the first quarter, but were down 3.1 per cent compared with the fourth quarter of 2023.