As the feds weigh slapping steep tariffs on EVs made in China, BYD has decided to set its sights on the Canadian market anyway.
Driving the news: Per the Globe and Mail, one of the world's largest EV makers plans to start selling passenger vehicles in Canada, even after the federal government signalled that it would follow the lead of the U.S. and the EU to heavily tax BYD’s electric cars.
Why it matters: Western countries have grown increasingly concerned that Chinese automakers will flood the global market with low-cost EVs, thanks to cheap labour and China’s generous government subsidies, and undercut homegrown automakers.
- The government is also trying to protect the billions it has spent to establish an EV manufacturing hub for Western automakers like Ford, Stellantis, and Volkswagen.
- Ottawa has noted that if left unchecked, Chinese EV imports of cars (priced as low as US$10,000 before tariffs) could skyrocket, putting those investments at risk.
Bottom line: With Canada and the U.S.’s auto supply chain more tangled up than a pair of wired earbuds, Canadian auto industry groups argue the feds have no choice but to align with the U.S., which has said it would tax made-in-China EVs by a whopping 100%.—LA