Canada has released another update on imports of Chinese-built electric vehicles (EVs), as the program’s first import window nears its end.
According to the latest Global Affairs Canada report, 15,063 of the available 24,500 vehicle quota has now been used up, leaving 9,437 spots remaining. That means approximately 61.5% of the first-period quota has been claimed by automakers.
The latest figures represent an increase of 2,250 vehicles in one week. The previous report, dated August 14, showed 12,813 vehicles imported, with 11,687 quota spots remaining.
August imports approach 5,000
Unlike some of the previous updates which saw prior month’s figures updated, all of this week’s increase came from August imports. which rose from 2,700 vehicles to 4,950. Figures for May, June and July remained unchanged at 3,510, 621 and 5,982 respectively.
The new imports were again split relatively evenly between the two passenger EV customs classifications.
Electric passenger vehicles with a customs value of C$35,000 or less increased from 6,019 to 7,747, meaning 1,728 additional vehicles were added over the past week. Vehicles in the above C$35,000 category increased from 6,491 to 7,013, an increase of 522.
As we’ve noted previously, these thresholds refer to customs value and not the retail price consumers pay in Canada.
As has been the case throughout the program’s early days, Tesla is likely responsible for the vast majority of these imports, with the automaker continuing to bring Shanghai-built Model 3s into the country.
Meanwhile, the number of conventional hybrids remains unchanged at 259. Those vehicles, which were all imported in July, are believed to be China-built Lincoln Nautilus Hybrids following the model’s return to the Canadian market.
What’s next
With the first six-month import window ending August 31, it now appears increasingly unlikely that Canada will use its entire 24,500-vehicle allocation.
Even after the latest increase, another 9,437 vehicles would need to be imported before the end of August to exhaust the quota.
However, those spots aren’t lost as any unused allocation will carry forward into the second six-month period beginning September 1. By the time that period ends in March 2027, we should see some Chinese-built EVs arriving in Canada from the likes of Xpeng, Geely, and others, several of which have so far only imported test and validation vehicles into the country.
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