While high gas prices may have cut into your budget, they're putting money into the pockets of electric car makers. Record numbers of consumers are taking their foot off the gas and plugging in.

According to FleetCarma, year-over-year sales of electric vehicles are up 75 per cent as more consumers ditch the combustion engine.

“We’ve never sold more hybrids in B.C. or in Canada than we have today,” said Toyota Pacific Zone manager David Lee.

Toyota’s hybrid sales are up 44 per cent over last year and according to FleetCarma, B.C. set new records with more than 2.5 per cent of vehicle sales being electric.

The numbers include plug-in electric hybrids like the Toyota Prius Prime, which started selling in B.C. this past spring, and full battery electric vehicles like the Tesla Model 3, which was released for delivery in the province in early June with a temporary delivery centre set up at Vancouver’s PNE grounds.

“Why a hybrid? Well take a look at what gas prices are today,” Lee pointed out.

“I think the key is when you run an electric, it’s like going to a gas station and paying 25 cents a litre,” FleetCarma’s Matt Stevens told CTV News.

More electric vehicle charging stations are being added every day and new technology hydrogen fuel cells are hitting the market too.

Toyota’s hydrogen fuel cell Mirai will launch in this summer.

“We are bringing 50 Mirai’s into Canada this year. We’ll start in Quebec as we did with the Prius Prime,” said Lee.

On June 15, Shell opened Canada’s first retail hydrogen fuel station on Granville Street in Vancouver.

To date the top selling battery electric vehicles (BEVs) include:

  • Chevrolet Bolt
  • Nissan Leaf
  • Tesla Model X
  • Volkswagen e-Golf
  • Tesla Model S

The top selling plug-in hybrid electric vehicles (PHEVs) include:

  • Chevrolet Volt
  • Toyota Prius Prime
  • Mitsubishi Outlander
  • Chrysler Pacifica
  • Honda Clarity

“We’re going to see sales growth even faster when we get more alternative for electric vehicles – different vehicle sizes,” said Stevens.

Another incentive is B.C.’s Clean Energy Vehicle Program. Depending on whether they lease or purchase, consumers are eligible for rebates from $2,500 to $6,000.