Popular Chinese EVs expected to arrive in weeks.
CBC Canada discusses the questions How soon will they be here? How much will they cost?
Buckle up! The electric vehicle market in this country is about to take a sharp turn.
Prime Minister Mark Carney is reopening Canada to Chinese-made EVs, lowering a 100 per cent tariff on imports, imposed in 2024, back to six per cent.
There’s demand for more affordable and climate-conscious EVs, and for an average customer, having Chinese EVs in the market means “more choice” and “greater tech,” said Max Morris, sales manager at Shift Electric Vehicles in Burlington, Ont.
How many are coming to Canada?
Up to 49,000 EVs a year from China will be allowed into Canada, initially, which Carney says is less than three per cent of the overall car market.
That will increase to approximately 70,000 over five years.
How soon could they arrive?
Vehicles could arrive at Canadian ports in a matter of weeks, says Addisu Lashitew, an associate professor at McMaster University’s DeGroote School of Business.
“Chinese EV makers can ramp production and ship quickly, and BYD even operates its own cargo ships that could further shorten transit times,” he said in an email to CBC News. The hurdle, he says, will be regulatory clearance and other compliance steps.
Lashitew says he wouldn’t be surprised if new Chinese EVs arrived as early as March or April.
Will they be cheaper than other EVs?
It depends on the brand and the model, but Chinese EVs can cost $10,000 to $15,000 less than those of similar size and range that are already popular in Canada.
One of BYD’s top sellers, a compact car with a short range known as both the Seagull and the Dolphin Mini, can go for less than $30,000.
Who will sell them?
Right now, there aren’t any branded dealerships for EVs made by Chinese companies.
But with Canada rolling out the welcome mat, those companies could move fast.
BYD has opened dozens of dealerships around Australia since entering its market in mid-2022 — and had sold more than 52,000 vehicles there by the start of this year.
Canada Embraces Asia to Save Auto Heartland Squeezed by US Tariffs
Bloomberg reports Canada Embraces Asia to Save Auto Heartland Squeezed by US Tariffs
Canada’s long relationship with the Detroit automakers has turned fractious after the companies responded to President Donald Trump’s tariff policy by swiftly slashing jobs and production in Ontario. Industry Minister Melanie Joly has threatened to go after GM and Chrysler parent company Stellantis NV for money, accusing them of breaking past promises they made when they accepted government funding.
The companies sometimes called the Detroit Three — GM, Stellantis and Ford Motor Co. — used to dominate the Canadian automotive industry. But last year, they were responsible for just 23% of the cars and light trucks made in the country, according to an Ontario research group, down from 56% a decade ago. Two Japanese giants, Honda Motor Co. and Toyota Motor Corp., are now the firms that matter most.
And inside Prime Minister Mark Carney’s government, there’s a growing belief that if the big US automakers are slowly abandoning Canadian factories, there’s no longer any reason to do them favors.
So Carney and Joly have done two things that would have been unthinkable just 15 months ago, before Trump moved back into the White House and began to say, over and over again, that he no longer wanted the US to buy Canadian-made automobiles. They’ve gone to Beijing to court Chinese investment in the auto sector — opening up the future possibility of Canadian-made BYD or Chery vehicles roaming the streets of Toronto and Montreal. And earlier this month, they introduced a new automotive strategy with a proposed system of import credits.
Canada Adopts Trump’s Tactics
It’s complicated, but the aim is to send a message to automakers: if you want to sell in Canada without paying tariffs, you need to make cars here. That’s a warning shot for companies like General Motors, which has the largest market share, selling about 300,000 cars and trucks in Canada last year. GM brings in most of those models from the US — with the closing of Horne’s plant, it’s down to a single Canadian assembly plant making Chevrolet pickup trucks.
Trump’s willingness to toss out the rules of continental trade has sparked a sense of betrayal among auto workers. Canadian taxpayers shelled out billions to help bail out GM and Chrysler during the global financial crisis and to help fund the retooling and building of plants.
The China Card
When Trump first imposed automotive tariffs last year, Canada was one of the only countries to hit back with matching levies. Carney’s proposed new system would give automakers “import credits” when they make cars in Canada, which can be used to wipe out those tariffs or sold to competing companies. Honda and Toyota, as the two largest manufacturers in the country, stand to benefit the most.
The most controversial part of Canada’s new strategy is to chase investment from Chinese companies that make electric cars, which have been shut out of both Canada and the US by 100% tariffs put in place during the Biden administration. During his January trip to China, Carney also agreed to lower the tariff to around 6% on a small quota of EVs — 49,000 a year — as part of getting China to reduce agricultural tariffs.
The deal has rattled some in the Trump administration, with Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick warning Canada’s deal with China could jeopardize USMCA talks later this year. Automakers have also cautioned that allowing cheap Chinese EVs into the country could complicate the competitive landscape.
While Canada’s preference would be to maintain its historic partnership with the US in the auto industry, Patrick Brown, the mayor of Brampton, Ontario, said the US needs to realize that a permanent rupture in trading relations will force the country to forge partnerships in Asia instead.
“I have to assume that Chinese automakers, South Korean and Japanese automakers, are sipping champagne right now, watching the chaos that the Trump administration has created,” Brown said of the trade war. “And if those divorce papers actually happen, what other choice does Canada have?”
McMaster University’s Mordue said the tariff agreement with China is unlikely to lead to profound changes in the Canadian automotive landscape on its own. The 49,000 EVs allowed into Canada at a lower tariff rate are less than 3% of its new-vehicle market.
But if Canada wants to have a vibrant automotive sector, it will need an industrial policy that shakes up the status quo, he said. That includes making room for investment from China, which now makes more than 30 million vehicles a year, three times what the US makes. It has also emerged as a global leader in electric vehicle production, building EVs at a much lower cost than its competitors.
“If we keep our horse hitched to the US automakers, our industry will suffer. It’ll suffer because of tariffs and it will suffer because of the increasing irrelevance of the US automakers,” Mordue said. “People don’t want to hear that, but that’s where this is ultimately going over the medium- to longer-term, in the absence of more courageous action.”
Meanwhile Back in the US
Steel tariffs, Aluminum tariffs, and high labor costs make the US the high cost producer.
And EVs are nowhere to be found other than Tesla, and aging dinosaur of a car.
The real tragedy is Trump wanting to rein in China but asinine tariff policy has pushed Canada and the EU closer to China.
Plenty of millennials and zoomers would like a cheap EV. But Trump wants them to buy a truck.
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Canada needs a clean break from the US. The border should be closed completely. Canada should quit NORAD immediately and arm itself with a nuclear force large enough to act as a deterrent against US aggression. The US is now Canada’s worst enemy and should be treated as such. Ban all US made goods and cut off electricity and petroleum sales to the US.
Only until Trump and his sycophants are gone.
Canada and the US actually like and benefit from what has been a great long term relationship.
The US can come back from the Dark Ages of Trump!
A country that produced and elected a man like the Tramp cannot be trusted, ever again.
No mention of the hidden costs such as:
Adding power generation
Adding power distribution
Adding charging stations
More frequent charging due to cold temperatures.
Longer wait time for repairs due to slippery road conditions.
Rental car costs during repair.
Wasted time for those who do not have a charger at home or the office.
Probably because these costs are not “hidden”. Everyone knows about them, and consumers can decide if the switch from ICE is worth it individually.
Canada has a ton of uber-cheap hydro power for charging EVs. They could (and probably should) quit sending their cheap electrical power to their ‘US friend’ and charge their own EV cars for super cheap.
Article on Ford shifting their EV strategy. Says a competitive EV light truck will be introduced in 2027… we’ll see (Note: long article).
https://www.cnbc.com/2026/02/17/ford-ev-platform-pickup-truck.html?
utm_source=join1440&utm_medium=email&utm_placement=newsletter&user_id=671c0055ef9fc5fdc50127ac
Canads is smarter than the US, they are facing the fact that we in North America believe our own bullshit and have stagnated.
Unfortunately the US citizenry is still in denial that we can compete by throwing up artificial barrIers. It use to be that we took on all comers and beat them in the marketplace. Now we elect people like Trump who sell us excuses
If our private sector (with the most deployable capital in the world) can’t beat the Chinese govt at their own game, it just means we’re fat dumb, happy, and losing
Won’t matter. Canadians do not want EVs. We’re generally pretty dense most of the time, but most people finally figured out that EVs in Canada are not your best choice. Investment is already being written off. Stellantis finally clued in. VWs Powerco sees problems. EV adoption in Canada is a moot point.
The auto industry from my perspective has peaked in yearly sales and will see declines in yearly production going forward.
Not sure how it all shakes out but Canada might seem to be a logical choice for EV expansion based on electricity generation.
Mapped: What Powers Each U.S. State and Canadian Province?
Interesting link:
US has only 22% of its power from renewables.
Canada has 67% of its power from renewables.
Instead of going to war in Iran, America should remove Trump from office and get busy building power plants and rebuilding our grid…
Oh yeah Trump has to distract from his involvement with Epstein…
They stopped making affordable vehicles by choice. Apparently they prefer to sell fewer vehicles for more profit and let the average guy deal with the used market. I think that History says that this strategy doesn’t pan out in the long run.
The root problem with all the Trump policies is that they arise from pure fictions:
those same good hearted folks keep voting for nonstop world wide warfare and bombing or threatening to bomb any poor people, whose leaders don’t want to trade with or not trade with countries WE have determined. WMD was a joke. those good hearted workers. bwwaaah. thanks for the LOL
I’m going to be very curious to see how much gouging takes place on these Chinese EVs.
Only 49K are coming in (China will of course ship the most profitable ones, not the cheapest ones so that they make good money on this) and yet if they cost 10K on average less than competing models (even with China sending their most expensive models) then DEMAND is going to vastly exceed 49K cars.
That means dealers will be able to dramatically mark up prices since there will be lines of people waiting to buy (like during the pandemic when people paid way over sticker). Even if dealers don’t, you can bet lots of people will attempt to buy 2, one for themselves and one to sell at a marked up price.
In the end I suspect the price will have to be on par with existing EV models due to what I wrote above so someone (dealers or Chinese manufacturers or both) is going to make fat profits.
ok Adam Smith. sure thing.
This plays out all the time. Ever watched what happens when tickets to premier concerts or sporting events go on sale. They get snapped up and re-sold at fat profits because they were sold undervalued and supply is limited and demand is high.
Same thing going to happen here. Anyone who believes they are going to get a 40K in value EV for 20K is insane. The Chinese aren’t stupid and they know they can sell what is a 20K EV in China for 40K in Canada.
They would be wise to bring in their least expensive cars to get people to buy into their brand and then ship the luxury cars for profit.
this is interesting topic. So all American companies are scaling or closing EV development citing lack of customer interest.
Now wonder if there would be interest if china EV cars are available in USA. I am pretty sure lots of folks would buy small commute EV for say 15k but are not that much inclined to buy big EV SUV for 50k.
If American companies are not interested in creating product that customer want we definitely should allow other companies to get into market and fill this space.
Indeed, the customer has no interest in EVs in the price range of luxury cars.
A big Chinese EV SUV here in Malaysia goes for under 25K USD.
“Fore!”
and why does Europe not have a Tesla?
https://worksinprogress.co/issue/why-europe-doesnt-have-a-tesla/
Realistically, it’s my understanding with EV’s, that roughly an Overall 25%-35% reduction in Battery Range could be expected due to the impact of Cold to the Battery (EV’s) lose about 20% of their range in freezing cold Temperatures). Also added in, is the expected usage of the Heat during these Cold Temperatures. Charging Times can also be effected.
EV batteries operate best at temperatures between 60°F and 80°F. So with 9 Months out of the year, 0-Negative Degrees, this will become a factor. As far as the 60-80 optimum goes, Canada will rarely witness it.
You can help minimally with heated items, so less need for heat, but that’s an added expense and maintenance too.
True, but even ICE vehicles lose about 15% – 20% of fuel economy in low temperatures. Primarily due to increased engine friction, using power to heat the car, deflated tires and increased air density. Norway has gigantic adoption rates for EVs and seems to be getting along fine.
— Heating comes from the engine in ICEs, which runs hot. I spend a lot less gasoline in the winter than in the summer (in the summer the A/C is like running an additional small engine). Heating the cabin in ICEs in the winter is free, and autonomy is huge.
I would always cross the State of Ohio on the i90 with one tank of gas and still have about 40 miles gas to go (old ’97 low-emissions Honda Accord), two passengers and luggage. Different story in the summer, due to the A/C.
— EVs are far heavier than ICEs, which prematurely wears tires (and roads), and breaks. Nobody has calculated yet the environmental impact of EVs, due to more frequent tire replacements and more frequent road maintenance. Let alone battery replacements.
And nobody has estimated the future cost of electricity due to both data centers and EVs hitting the grid simultaneously.
“nobody has calculated…” and “nobody has estimated…”?
Try Google before you post. You won’t sound so ill-informed. Lots of studies have calculated the negatives of EV tire replacement and future electricity costs.
BTW, lots of studies have also calculated the benefits of EVs with less gasoline burning and less oil production needed.
In fact, there are so many studies that of course, they come up with different estimates of costs and benefits of EVs, thus allowing people like you to rationalize any opinion you like (as ‘fact’) LOL
YMMV
Yes, the Chinese EV makers have no experience with cold and don’t take it into account at all, because the highly populated provinces of Hebei, Tianjin, Beijing and Liaoning are not fucking cold during winter.
Keep the heater off and burn Sterno inside.
they (Chinese) are so far ahead of us
https://youtu.be/mUmlv814aJo?si=S5xUwp0jlvEkBDr8
Even more impressive when you view 2025 CNY dance with the 2026 dance, the robotics advancements in just 12 months are pretty impressive.
It’s sad to see us slide in to darkness and stupidity, watching China become what we could have been.
WW2 made the U.S. producer to the world. Western Europe and Japan recovered, ending that era. China received most favored trade status under Clinton. Many U.S. factories moved to China, making it the producer to the world. China could produce goods for far less cost. A long time ago, the U.S. had low factory wages.
Empires follow a predictable path of rise and fall. Eventually, China will be where we are now, just as the U.S. became what Britain was.
And now we’re in the descent stage where we bash in heads until everyone “respects us” again.
read Plato’s republic for the answer. short version. assholes elect assholes to do asshole things. amerikans are assholes.
Sayonara U.S.!
As a Canadian, I look forward to buying a BYD in a few years when my present Toyota dies.
As opposed to very high cost low quality junk, like Ford, GM, Stellantis (the very name screams low quality).
Having been victimized by these “domestic” producers for decades, with their over-priced breakdown ready rust prone junk, I’m ready to say goodbye to them. Don’t let the bankruptcy court door hit you in the behind.
I’m a US citizen. Bought my last domestic car in 1991. A Pontiac. Biggest piece of junk ever produced. Never again. My preference are US produced Hondas. American finance based CEOs have no clue how to actually build anything. But they know how to make Wall Street happy.
never did buy amerikan. was gifted by older brother a dodge dart in 70s and an delta 88 by my father……….ten year old autos when i got them in late 70s……..the slant 6 was so simple to work on. but they were already on the road to junkly made. always bought the rice boxes…….when i was north of 18 years old in late 1970s……….
Always nice to hear some anecdotes. Europe. Driving the last non-turbo inline 6 BMW. Also read about your slant 6 engine, and the Barra. For some reason car makers insist upon the most complicated drive trains these days, impossible to maintain plus unreliable being the combination of qualities.
From what I’ve read, Canada is too small to support an auto industry.
Without the US to export to there’s no CDN auto industry.
Not having an auto industry would be a massive relief to CDN taxpayers & consumers.
The best outcome for Canada’s auto trade would be to emulate Australia, except with permanent 50% tariffs on US vehicles.
Using data from FRED (St Louis Fed) it looks like Canada exported more vehicles to the USA during Jan-Oct 2025 than during Jan-Oct 2024. Looks like Trump is going to need a few more temper tantrum tariffs to kill Canada’s auto industry.
Ed to add source: https://fred.stlouisfed.org/series/CAUINSA
For sure!
What I don’t understand is how auto companies can keep paying the massive tariffs. They’re swallowing the cost for the most part.
I suspect the NA auto industry is on shaky ground & everyone might be operating Chinese EVs eventually.
While Trumps Ai and Bitcoin economy only matters the rest of the world is Building it’s economy for what people want and need NOT what Trump wants for his ego not for what Americans want and need.
One of the comments below complains about how China has “too many brands” of car to choose from and I think there’s a good point to be made here:
We are so far from a free market that you have Americans passionately arguing for a Soviet style consumer model without a shed of irony. Bmcc is 100% on the ball calling modern day America a failing USSR clone, we have all the hallmarks. The economy is controlled by a politburo of unelected bureaucrats in the Fed. Every single consumer market is controlled by maybe 4-5 conglomerates, all of which get federal subsidies and tax breaks. Consumers are blocked from buying foreign products that might compete with the state monopolies.
What about this isn’t Russia ’89? We even have OMON now in the form of ICE.
After a one year pause, Canada has come out with another government incentive program for EVs and PHEVs that applies to domestically produced vehicles, or to those that Canada has a free trade agreement with, such as the US and Mexico.
The new incentives will not apply to Chinese vehicles. I imagine this will allow those other vehicles to better compete with Chinese ones on price.
For some who question quality of Chinese made vehicles? In 2024 Tesla shipped over 40,000 Tesla cars into Canada that were made in China. Canada had vehicle sales of about 2,000,000 new vehicles in 2025. So 40,000 Chinese cars that will soon to be sold in Canada is really a nothing burger.
https://financialpost.com/commodities/energy/electric-vehicles/tesla-china-canada-biden-tariffs
Maybe you didn’t notice the tight valve setting on imports. Slowly ratcheted up over five years. Canada is regulating it in a way that it won’t become much more than what you describe.
They are already in Finland for some time, they seem to own the low end of the EV market. The world is moving on without the US. You were warned about trump in advance!
Let’s not waste more breath warning his cult followers
Intelligence is a function of how quickly you can admit you were wrong.
Dumb question: do existing charging stations in the US (for Teslas, Rivians) have standardized plugs / interfaces? How about BYD’s? Many retail stores have designated parking spots for EV charging. Could BYD’s slide into that infrastructure seamlessly? Is Canada any different from the US in that regard?
Some EVs have more than one connector type, depending on the country they’re sold. Don’t know about BYD specifically, but the connector type seems to be an easy change.
Canada uses two types of ev chargers: CCS1 and NACS. China uses GB/T domestically.
However, whenever Chinese EVs enter a foreign market, they do so with the charger types already in that market. So any Chinese vehicles that Canada imports will have one or both of the charger types that are already in use there.
I just got back from Chile. Chinese vehicles there make up 30% of new vehicle sales. One third of those vehicles are EV. They all use the CCS2 charging system which is the standard in Chile. Same as in Europe and Australia.
TSLA made a big play last year for the standardized EV charger market. I’m not sure China will get the inside track on Trump’s DOGE bestie and Mars freak, Elon Musk
Thanks for all the answers, and thanks especially to whoever downvoted my questions. I lol’d. Good to know I engender such automatic antipathy. Probably because I’m a Russian bot. 😉
Here this spring. Gone next spring
Very few non-Canadians can truly appreciate just how brutal our roads and winters are on cars. Add to that the “Made in China” factor, I don’t see these things surviving the “word of mouth” campaign.
I’d love have an EV, but I won’t be buying one of these.
That’s how little u know about canadian winters in BC during winter the grass can still be green f001.
Yup. you got me. I know nothing about Canada.
You mean when Americans say “All of Canada is one thing, winter and snow” they are just using pejoratives? Never would I ever!
More than half of Canada’s population is south of Minneapolis, and 70% is south of the 49th parallel (border between the US & Canada).
Trump makes big move to bring small (but awesome) trucks back to America
https://www.msn.com/en-us/autos/other/trump-makes-big-move-to-bring-small-but-awesome-trucks-back-to-america/ar-AA1RQ1ge
I guess Trump never heard of the Ford Maverick.
I look forward to buying one. I’m near the boarder so I can buy one and bring it back.
But the current administration might label me a threat to national security. I’m going to hold off a bit.
You’re already on that list.
They’ll let you bring it in but will charge you 100% tariff on it at the border. So be prepared to pay 30K cash on the spot to get in into America and registered.
It is fine that this story leads with a friendly CBC quote…but the anti-Chinese bias at CBC is deep rooted. For example, check out this CBC headline from the 16th:
Canadians are ready for Chinese-made autos, but experts note there are security risks
Critics worry that Chinese EVs pose major national security, privacy concerns
That story has one paragraph noting that data collection by the USA also occurs, but ends with another hit at China;
“They’re spying on us right now. They have everything they need,” she said, adding the larger concern is about economic national security and the impact that the entry of the cars could have on Canada’s domestic automobile market.
“We know that companies like BYD receive large amounts of support from the Chinese state in terms of loans, money support, weaker labour laws”
It is as if the American auto manufacturers do not get state subsidies & federal bailouts.
Complicate the competitive landscape? Lol! I think they mean they would be crushed. Their solution is to make Americans overpay for cars at a time everyone is going broke. The same solution for big pharma, big medical, big insurance, big everything.
I went on a trip to Mexico last year and surprised to see so many BYD dealerships everywhere. If people in Mexico pay less for cars that means they have more money to spend on other things. There is a rising standard of living there and a declining one here.
Almost every post these days make the case for a good exit strategy.
American mfgrs can’t compete with slave labor and massive government subsidies. It’s suicide to let them in. We’re in a war, but most people are sleeping. Parallel economies are the only future.
Chinese auto manufacturers don’t use slave labor. In fact, in terms of purchasing power parity, Chinese auto workers wages are quite similar to their American counterparts. The Chinese government also doesn’t provide massive subsidies to their auto manufacturers. They do to get them started. China is a communist country so it doesn’t have large private capital markets. But once up and going, Chinese manufacturers are carefully watched by (government-owned) banks and failing manufacturers are put into forced takeovers by successful ones.
China does do a couple of things that make American companies noncompetitive. First they believe in rabid competition. While the US has only 2 real brands (GM and Ford) who collude to keep prices up, China has 97 who are constantly competing and looking for ways to cut costs and improve reliability and styling. Constantly pushing prices lower and making better cars that people want. Secondly, without those private capital markets, shareholders can’t force the companies to take on massive levels of debt to provide them with guaranteed income that adds no value to the product.
But the US celebrates free market economics with its monopolistic control of industry and maximization of short term income opportunities. So it is a decision the American people made with their votes. Having parallel economies simply is going to mean one for an increasingly poor America who can’t afford American products, and an increasingly wealthy rest of the world figuring out ways to compete.
That in itself is telling of what a mess the chinese EV industry is. It’s a government and investor sponsored bubble that is desperate to try and stave off die-back.
They have so many cars they can’t sell, they are filling up empty fields with them, even offshore. Have some googling it’s really quite astonishing to see.
Rampant competition has lead to ridiculous corner cutting and have made these vehicles technological wonders of shit. Lots of gadgetry with little to no quality control, failure rates are huge with some flaws being fatal.
Caveat emptor to all.
Nonsense….this is a classic Chinese government model that they are applying to lots of sectors. Do not pick winners but invest in a load of startups at the beginning of an industry. Then over time the high quality ones succeed and the poor ones fail. It costs a lot at the start but you are left with highly resilient, high quality companies.
The rest of the world is trying to avoid “Made in America” at the moment. BYD is seen as a good brand in Europe now.
Yup. Because the Chinese government loves watching companies go bankrupt.
and I’m not sure BYD being seen positively in Europe is a good reference point. European cars don’t exactly set a high bar for comparison.
Says the guy that supports the guy that managed to bankrupt 2 cansinos, 5 other businesses, and a country.
You’re a goddam moron, and so perfectly unaware of it.
Classic. You do realize there is more to the world than Trump.
And I never said I supported Trump.
I support good ideas and criticize bad idea.
No one is wrong 100% of the time.
Ultimately though you’re statement is irrelevant. Trump’s bankruptcies have nothing to do with Chinese EV’s and their penchant to prop up zombie companies.
Almost 100 makers is a mess created by the government. Unlike in the West, where there are just a handful fully bailed out by the governments. Rentiers of the West, unite!
Stop trying to cloud the issue with facts
China doesn’t use slave labor.
It is our “Big Three” that get the government subsidies too.
I work in the automotive sector and have spent over a year working in Canada with a work permit (along with 2+ years in Germany and a year in Mexico). The sheer stupidity of selling out your auto sector to make a deal with devil and get 50k people a slightly cheaper car is mind-blowingly stupid. Canada has the unused capacity today to make their own cars to supply their market. TDS is driving people to moronic decisions.
Meanwhile, I have seen this sort of new model / reshoring activity in the US in decades. There’s a reason why most automotive execs see tariffs has short term headwinds but long term tailwinds. Countries like Canada making desperate decisions like this are going to get burned in the long run.
Yes, you work in the auto sector and need tariffs because you otherwise cannot compete.
As a Canadian who worked in the auto sector, I know many of the Tier One and Tier Two suppliers have either gone bankrupt or moved out of Canada since 2008. Canada has lost tens of thousands of jobs to China and Mexico. Before 2008 Canada manufactured more vehicles than Michigan. Now that Trump wants to put the final nail in the coffin of the Canadian automotive sector, I say why not deal with China if they will do the same as Toyota and Honda and build vehicles in Canada?
Auto Guy, the concept of gatekeeping our society has totally been lost. Look at the ICE debacle. Look at foreign lobbying in our country. We are being gutted from the inside out. Heck we’re still giving 87 million a week to the Taliban. I bet half of the commenters on this website were on Zhedge complaining about NAFTA for the last decade and half. Now we have some semblance of a plan and they’re worried about not being able to buy cheap Chinese products from their fixed income, or losing their $10 chipotle burritos because there’s no more Mexicans. Meanwhile their kids are out of college and living in the basement because they either can’t find worthy employment or think blue collar work is beneath them. They think corporations will somehow become benevolent and make changes from within. They will not change without top down restrictions or an incentive structure.
The problem with Trump & Lutnick’s predatory approach in the guise of America First is that first off these policies are used as coercion or punishment rather than sound economic policy, further when you break the financial backs of your people to boost domestic manufacturing you’re cutting off your leg to save your arm. Also there is a misconception on this Admin’s part that playing in a global field will weaken the U.S. or open it to exploitation but in truth balancing domestic growth with active participation in a fragmented, yet deeply connected, international financial system, leveraging both technology & strategic partnerships is mandatory for dynamic growth/survival.
It is no longer “America First”. It is “America Only”, and really it is “Rich Americans Only”.
You have to be rich and a regime supporter. Being American is a distant third in qualifications.
Red Chinese EVs will be the new Yugo.
They are NOTHING like Yugos.
They are very technologically advanced, comfortable, fast, well build and very affordable.
Go Google for the BYD Sealion or the Zeekr 7X to see how nice they are.
I’m in Australia. We have already been flooded with Chinese EVs. Like Canada, EVs aren’t as suited to our vast distances as other markets, but that hasn’t halted uptake.
Sure most Australians still want ICE. But Chinese EVs are now quite common.
My take. MG and many of the other brands are cheap and cheerful. They aren’t complete rubbish, but they are like Korean cars were 30 years ago. They lack quality (mechanical and interior) at it shows now and will show even more in 10 years.
However, BYD seems to be a league above most. Again time will tell how the last.
I bought a European PHEV around a year ago. I need the flexibility of ICE for my regular rural trips. I also wanted to avoid the Chinese brands due to my personal taste and my prejudices about poorer quality. Though as said, BYD seems a cut above the rest, my prejudices might have been misplaced.
Had you driven a modern Chinese car, not necessarily an EV, you’d have realized that European and Usonian makes are the new Yugo.
China dominates the EV market worldwide with nearly 70% of EV sales. They make 3 times as many cars as America. They are converting to solar and wind much faster than America or any other country. They have 30,000 miles of high speed rail…we have none.
that is wonderful news for Canada and for world. only a matter of time before some USA states will be allowing them into their states. by jan 20, 2029 many states will have “effectively” seceded from the madcap edicts from the imperial cities of DC and NYC……… Get on the Asia Times daily report email list. Best worldwide take on all news……………https://mailchi.mp/asiatimes/the-daily-report-hqsb5bnxsv-9612969?e=72a27ab2f8
America has been in decline for 50 years. Federal debt accumulation is crowding out other spending. Interest on that debt is the #2 item in the federal budget at $1.3 trillion….that’s the real number. I believe nothing coming out of Trump’s mouth. Can America handle another 3 years of this lunatic?
No we can’t, but whoever follows on will be – maybe not a lunatic – but another reality denier. We’re floating toward the waterfall and it’s too late to pull off to the shore.
Yes, the Republic seems to have passed its “sell by” date. It had a 250-yr run.
We will have to handle this lunatic (and his coterie of pillagers) for another three years. There is no choice because the GOP is so subservient. For this reason alone, GOP should lose so big they get out of business. Only then will a new party come into play to compete with the Democrats. GOP going out of existence will be the best outcome for the US.
We have some Canadian Friends here who quietly bad mouth we Americans behind our backs. I know this because the Friendlies told us. My Mom’s 2nd hubby was Canadian and all that he did was bad mouth America, while he ripped her off of her fortune. He was total loser and a Politician of all things.
I hated that MOFO.
ha ha ha. you sound like you have your shit together and can face reality of the twats you call “friends”.
Maybe the friendlies are shit stirrers and the Canadians are people of integrity.
In case you haven’t kept up with the new the ROTW is thoroughly pissed off with the US with the exception of some autocrats in Eastern Europe and S America. You’re fading into obsolescence and irrelevance. I speak as a citizen of a land that has already completed the transition.
I am currently in Malaysia, where Japanese and Western car brands used to rule. It is amazing to see how quickly they are being displaced by Chinese brands.
BYD, GWM, Geely and Chery are now everywhere. The products are good and the prices are though to beat. Now they have even started building local assembly lines.
I fear for the legacy car makers.
They are everywhere here in the Southern EU. Esp BYD’s. EVERYWHERE.
See my comments above for context. I’ve seen similar here in Australia, not to the same extent but they are common.
In my opinion, MG, GWM, Geely and Chery are of comparable quality to Korean cars 30 years ago. Eg nice when new, but in 5-10 years they be struggling.
BYD are built better and priced accordingly.
GM, Ford….the business model doesn’t work. They are high cost producers. They should go under. America labor is too expensive. Prices are too high. America doesn’t work for 30% of Americans. The country is facing insolvency.