A harder year for the Montreal Electric Vehicle Show
This past weekend marked the eighth edition of the Salon du véhicule électrique de Montréal (SVEM). In recent years, the event has been on a roll. In 2022, when the pandemic returned, nearly 50,000 visitors passed through the turnstiles at Olympic Stadium to see what the industry had to offer.
In 2023 and 2024, around 32,000 people attended each year.
A difficult year
For the 2025 edition, it's clear that everyone was a little more concerned. First, construction at the Olympic Stadium forced the circus to move to the IGA Stadium in Jarry Park, where the world's best tennis players play during the summer.
But that wasn't the biggest concern for organizers this year. The backdrop of Donald Trump's auto tariffs and Canada's counter-tariffs has created a climate of uncertainty in the industry, with price hikes expected almost everywhere.
And of course, the withdrawal of the $5,000 rebate for the purchase or lease of an electric vehicle under the federal government's iVZE program, in addition to the reduction of incentives under Quebec's Roulez vert program this year, means that fewer buyers will come forward this year, especially as they tend to act at the end of 2024, knowing that the rebates are on borrowed time.
Attendance down
We contacted the show organizers to get their assessment of this year's edition. Unfortunately, no attendance figures were provided, which suggests that attendance was down.
Let's consider this a transitional year, because next year things could be different. There will also come a time when the SVEM will be partnered with the January Montreal Auto Show, which now owns the SVEM.
Regardless, visitors will still have plenty to look at. A total of 87 models from 15 manufacturers were on display. Last year there were 69, a sign that manufacturers are offering more and more electric vehicles.
Visitors were also able to test drive models organized by CAA-Quebec and Power Q. A total of 29 models were available to visitors, including Volkswagen's new ID.Buzz, which was the second most popular model after the Volvo EX30. A total of 2,361 people climbed into one of the models to live the electric experience (over 1,000 test drives were conducted).
A number of exhibitors were also present, including wheel manufacturer Fast Wheels, who presented their wheels for electric vehicles, and Giant, one of the leading names in the bicycle industry.
Conferences on a wide range of topics were also offered to the public.
Nevertheless, the organizers are pleased with the results of this eighth edition, given the context.
It remains to be seen what will be decided for 2026.