Geely-owned Lotus has become the first Chinese manufacturer to export EVs to Canada under the country’s new tariff-quota framework, shipping 18 Eletre SUVs built at its Wuhan plant. The vehicles were loaded onto a ship in May and are due to be delivered in Montreal later this month.
While China-built EVs are not new to Canadian roads, with brands such as Tesla, Volvo, Polestar, and Lotus already importing China-built EVs, this marks the first commercial use of the EV trade deal agreed between Canada and China earlier this year. This replaces Canada’s previous 100% tariff on China-built EVs with a 6.1% import tariff, though this is limited to the first 49,000 EVs imported each year. However, by year five of the agreement, this cap will rise to 70,000 EVs per year.
The lower rate transforms the Eletre’s prospects in the Canadian market. The electric SUV now starts at 119,900 Canadian dollars, marking a near halving in price compared to its price before the China-Canada agreement.
The small shipment gives Geely a way to test logistics, retail operations, and regulatory procedures ahead of any higher-volume entry, whether under its own badge or through other brands under its umbrella such as Zeekr. More than 2,900 Chinese-produced EVs arrived in Canada during May, the first month of imports under the new rules, though most of those are understood to be Shanghai-built Teslas.
Other Chinese EV manufacturers, such as BYD and Chery are also eyeing up the Canadian market, as this new 6.1% tariff will also allow these manufacturers to be competitive on price against other vehicles already sold in Canada.
While the coast is now clear for Chinese EV manufacturers to sell into Canada, cross-border politics may yet prove a barrier to sales. Last month, the neighbouring US denied Polestar authorisation to sell vehicles from the 2027 model year onwards under its Connected Vehicle Rule. While there is currently nothing stopping Chinese-built, Canadian-registered EVs from travelling across the border into the US for travel, a proposed legislation in US Congress, the Protecting America from Chinese Cars Act, would ban Chinese vehicles from entering the US in any capacity, even for day trips. With close to 20 million road crossings projected this year, the prospect of a Chinese-built EV being turned away at the border could be a genuine ownership consideration for many Canadians.
