Canada is set to impose a 100% tariff on Chinese EVs, following similar moves by the US and Europe. The move comes just as China’s largest EV maker, BYD, prepares to enter Canada.
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau told reporters on Monday that Canada will enforce a 100% tariff on Chinese EVs.
The sanctions mirror similar moves from the US and Europe to “protect domestic manufacturing” from the threat of low-cost EVs from China.
Last week, the European Commission announced new tariff rates as part of an ongoing investigation into Chinese electric car subsidies. The new EU import tariffs range from 9% to 36.3%, down from the initial 17.4% to 38.1% proposed in June.
Tesla and BYD were among the companies with rate drops. Tesla was the biggest winner, with its rate import rate dropping from 20.8% to just 9%. BYD’s rate was cut from 17.4% to 17%.
Canada will follow the US, its biggest trade partner by far, in enacting a 100% tariff rate on Chinese EV imports.
BYD Dolphin (left) and Atto 3 (right) Source: BYD
BYD to face 100% tariff in Canada
The update comes as China’s largest EV maker, BYD, preps to launch vehicles in Canada. BYD is already a leading EV brand in Mexico, but entering Canada could shake up the North American auto market.
Although BYD has not officially announced the news, a regulatory filing (via Reuters) in the country last month revealed it was moving closer.
BYD Seal test drive in Mexico (Source: BYD)
BYD Canada also met with government officials and inquired about opening retail locations with dealers.
The Chinese EV maker is already making its presence known in Mexico after delivering its first batch of 100 Yuan Plus models last summer.
In May, BYD revealed its first pickup truck, the Shark PHEV, in Mexico. Starting at 899,980 pesos ($53,400), BYD’s pickup will challenge top-selling models in the region, like the Ford Ranger and the Toyota Hilux.
BYD Shark PHEV pickup (Source: BYD)
BYD is also closing in on a deal for a new plant in Mexico as it expands its North American manufacturing footprint.
BYD’s America CEO, Stella Li, has already said the company has no plans to sell passenger EVs in the US due to its “confusing” politics. However, it already sells its electric buses in the States.
BYD’s wide-reaching portfolio (Source: BYD)
Trudeau said the new tariffs on Chinese EVs will go into effect on October 1, 2024, to “level the playing field for Canadian workers.” The tariffs will apply to electric and select hybrid passenger cars, buses, trucks, and delivery vans.
Currently, Tesla is the only automaker selling Chinese-made EVs in the nation. However, several Chinese auto leaders, including BYD, are eyeing the Canadian market.
Electrek’s Take
Canada is following the US in imposing a massive 100% tariff rate on Chinese EVs to “protect” domestic workers.
Meanwhile, American automakers, including Ford and GM, are delaying or canceling major EV initiatives altogether, which could put them further behind the industry.
Ford canceled plans for its three-row electric SUV. Even if Chinese EVs face a 100% tariff, other overseas automakers like Kia and Hyundai are already gaining ground in the US. Hyundai, including Kia and Genesis, topped Ford and GM as the second-best-selling EV brand in the US in the second quarter.
Meanwhile, BYD topped Honda and Nissan in Q2 to become the seventh-largest automaker globally.
With low-cost EVs, like the Seagull, which starts at just $9,700 (69,800 yuan) in China, BYD is quickly catching up to America’s “Big Three.”
Ford has shifted plans to focus on smaller, more affordable EVs as it looks to keep pace with Tesla and Chinese OEMs. CEO Jim Farley has praised BYD’s vehicles in the past, calling the Seagull a “pretty damn good car.”
Farley has warned that if Ford or its rivals cannot keep up with Chinese EVs, then profits and market share are at risk. Ford’s leader said that if the company fails to compete, it will shrink into just the North American market.
Fueled by incentives from the Illinois EPA and the state’s largest utility company, new EV registrations nearly quadrupled the 12% first-quarter increase in EV registrations nationally – and there are no signs the state is slowing down.
Despite the dramatic slowdown of Tesla’s US deliveries, sales of electric vehicles overall have perked up in recent months, with Illinois’ EV adoption rate well above the Q1 uptick nationally. Crain’s Chicago Business reports that the number of new EVs registered across the state totaled 9,821 January through March, compared with “just” 6,535 EVs registered in the state during the same period in 2024.
At the same time, the state’s largest utility, ComEd, launched a $90 million EV incentive program featuring a new Point of Purchase initiative to deliver instant discounts to qualifying business and public sector customers who make the switch to electric vehicles. That program has driven a surge in Class 3-6 medium duty commercial EVs, which are eligible fro $20-30,000 in utility rebates on top of federal tax credits and other incentives (Class 1-2 EVs are eligible for up to $7,500).
The electric construction equipment experts at XCMG just released a new, 25 ton electric crawler excavator ahead of bauma 2025 – and they have their eye on the global urban construction, mine operations, and logistical material handling markets.
Powered by a high-capacity 400 kWh lithium iron phosphate battery capable of delivering up to 8 hours of continuous operation, the XE215EV electric excavator promises uninterrupted operation at a lower cost of ownership and with even less downtime than its diesel counterparts.
XCMG showed off its latest electric equipment at the December 2024 bauma China, including an updated version of its of its 85-ton autonomous electric mining truck that features a fully cab-less design – meaning there isn’t even a place for an operator to sit, let alone operate. And that’s too bad, because what operator wouldn’t want to experience an electric truck putting down 1070 hp more than 16,000 lb-ft of torque!?
Easy in, easy out
XCMG battery swap crane; via Etrucks New Zealand.
The best part? All of the company’s heavy equipment assets – from excavators to terminal tractors to dump trucks and wheel loaders – all use the same 400 kWh BYD battery packs, Milwaukee tool style. That means an equipment fleet can utilize x number of vehicles with a fraction of the total battery capacity and material needs of other asset brands. That’s not just a smart use of limited materials, it’s a smarter use of energy.
As “extreme” weather events become more commonplace, the demand for reliable and portable energy continues to rise. In response to that growing demand for dependable off-grid power, Volvo has developed the new PU500 Battery Energy Storage System (BESS) designed to take electrical power when it’s needed most.
Designed to be deployable in a number of environments at a moment’s notice, the Volvo Energy PU500 BESS is equipped with approximately 500 kWh of usable battery capacity (up to 540 kWh total). More than enough juice, in other words, to power a remote construction site, disaster response effort, or even a music festival – anything that needs access to reliable electricity beyond a grid connection.
That’s great, but what sets the PU500 apart from other battery storage solutions is its integrated 240 kW DC fast charger.
“With an integrated CCS2 charger, the PU500 is designed to work with all brands of electric equipment, trucks, and passenger cars,” says Niklas Thulin, Head of BESS Product Offer at Volvo Energy. “This ensures that no matter what type of electric vehicle or machinery you rely on, the PU500 can provide the power you need, making it a truly flexible solution for any grid constrained site or location.”
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The integrated charger in the PU500 has the impressive ability to charge a heavy equipment asset (be that an electric semi truck or something like a wheel loader) in under two hours. Its on-board capacity allows to fully recharge up to 3 electric HD trucks or 20 electric cars per day, making it an incredibly versatile disaster response asset.