Electric cars for export waiting to be loaded on the "BYD Explorer NO.1", a domestically manufactured vessel intended to export Chinese automobiles, at Yantai port, in eastern China's Shandong province. Photo by AFP via Getty Images files

Article content

The Ministry of International Trade expects the number of Chinese-made electric vehicles arriving in Canada to significantly accelerate in the next six months.

Article content

In March, the federal government opened up the market to Chinese-made EVs, allowing 49,000 to enter Canada at a 6.1 per cent tariff rate over the following 12 months. But with the halfway point of the period approaching, about 15,600 Chinese-made EVs have arrived in Canada, or about 31 per cent of the quota.

Article content

Article content

Article content

Huzaif Qaisar, a spokesperson for International Trade Minister Maninder Sidhu, said the government was expecting a slow start because it takes time for businesses to enter new markets.

Article content

“A lot of (Chinese) companies are doing market research right now,” he said. “In conjunction with that, they’re also doing the (road safety) certification process with Transport Canada and other departments.”

Article content

The Chinese EV import quota formed the core of a larger trade deal that Prime Minister Mark Carney announced with China in January. Canada agreed to remove 100 per cent tariffs on up to 49,000 Chinese-made EVs per year in exchange for China temporarily dropping or slashing some tariffs on Canadian canola and seafood products.

Article content

From the outset, it was clear that new Chinese EV brands would not immediately show up, in part because it can take 12 to 24 months for an automaker to certify its vehicle complies with Canadian safety standards.

Article content

Qaisar said the federal government is assisting Chinese automakers with the safety certification process, although he did not specify how long it could take.

Article content

Article content

“We’re making sure they are getting the help they need,” he said. “It won’t take 18 months, (but) we are definitely ensuring it’s a due diligence process.”

Article content

Article content

He said about half of the Chinese EVs shipped to Canada so far had a “freight-on-board” value of $35,000 or less. That price does not include customs duties, taxes and other costs, so consumers are paying a higher price for those vehicles.

Article content

So far, many of the imported Chinese-made EVs are ones most Canadians are already familiar with, including ones by Tesla Inc. and Chinese-owned brands Polestar Automotive Holding UK PLC and Volvo Car Group.

Article content

It is also possible that some United States companies such as Ford Motor Co., which manufactures its Lincoln Nautilus Hybrid in China, may have used some of the quota.

Article content

Ford briefly stopped importing the vehicles after Canada announced 100 per cent tariffs on Chinese-made EVs in 2024. It did not respond to requests for comment by the time of publication.

Article content

Other brands could arrive soon. In April, Sidhu posted on social media that he had held meetings in China with BYD Co. Ltd., XPeng Inc. and GAC Aion New Energy Automobile Co. Ltd. about selling vehicles in Canada.