Canada is importing more Chinese EVs, but not the ones you want

Canada has imported more than 9,000 Chinese EVs since March, most of which are likely Tesla vehicles.

Global Affairs Canada’s (GAC) utilization report shows that 9,254 electric vehicles (EVs) have cleared into the country in the first window running from March 1 to August 31. That’s roughly 38 per cent of the 24,500 vehicle quota, leaving about 15,000 imports for the rest of the window.

What’s more interesting than the number of imports, however, is what’s being imported. The report doesn’t specify car brands, and instead offers numbers for three categories of vehicle:

• race cars/station wagons/etc. with a value at or below $35,000
• SUVs/vans with a value above $35,000
• race cars/station wagons/etc. with a value above $35,000

Image Credit: Government of Canada

As it stands, cars with a value at or below $35,000 went from nonexistent for the first three months to importing 4,192 in July, while cars with a value above $35,000 went from importing 3,510 in May to only 908 in July. Meanwhile, SUVs/vans above $35,000 have stagnated to a total of only 44 across the total period.

While it might look like tons of sub-$35,000 Chinese EVs are coming into Canada, so far, that largely hasn’t been the case. There are a couple of factors at play. First, as The Auto Wire points out, the $35,000 threshold isn’t the MSRP but instead the Free On Board (FOB) price, or what the vehicle is worth when loaded at the port of export. That’s the price before factoring in other costs, like ocean freight, insurance, duties, and more. So while the sub-$35,000 tier is growing, that doesn’t necessarily mean you can buy an EV for that price.

The other factor to consider is which companies are importing vehicles, and so far, it looks like it’s mostly Tesla. Again, GAC didn’t report brands, but Tesla launched its Shanghai-made Model 3 Premium RWD model in Canada on May 1. (Tesla previously sold Model 3 vehicles made in its Fremont, California factory.)

Priced at $39,490 (or $42,132 once you factor in additional fees like freight and PDI), the Shanghai-made Model 3 would likely fit into GAC’s sub-$35,000 EV category based on the FOB cost. The Auto Wire notes Tesla is one of the only brands moving that volume of EVs, so the May and July numbers likely account for Chinese-made Model 3s. And the category shift from May to July probably stems from a shift in classification of said Model 3s.

Beyond Tesla, there’s only one other Chinese EV we know has come to Canada. Lotus brought its Eletre here in April, but at a whopping $119,900, it’s absolutely not the affordable Chinese EV people were hoping for.

However, that could change in the future. BYD was in talks to open Canadian dealerships back in March, so I imagine it won’t be long before BYD vehicles start to eat away at Tesla’s dominance.

Source: Global Affairs Canada Via: The Auto Wire, Drive Tesla Canada