Geely Holding Group expects to receive certification from Canadian authorities “soon” for Geely Auto-branded vehicles, confirming for the first time at the executive level that the company intends to sell cars directly in Canada under its own name.
The Group oversees a portfolio that includes Geely Auto, Volvo, Polestar, Zeekr, Lynk & Co, Lotus, and Proton — with several brands already selling across European and North American markets.
“We’re not only considering the Canadian market, but also Brazil, South America, Eastern Europe and Southeast Asia,” Geely Holding Group‘s CEO Andy An told Bloomberg in an interview published on Wednesday.
“Geely‘s globalization is mostly through exports right now, but we will look to localize production,” An added without confirming if the Group will acquire or build a plant in Canada.
The comments mark the clearest signal yet from the world’s most diversified automaker that it plans to go beyond the Canadian presence it already maintains through its Swedish-based brands.
Volvo and Polestar both previously shipped China-manufactured vehicles to Canada before Ottawa imposed a 100% tariff on Chinese-built EVs in October 2024.
An, who previously served as CEO of Geely‘s premium brand Zeekr before being promoted to lead the entire holding group last year, is now personally driving the conglomerate’s global expansion strategy.
International Push
The Group saw its sales outside China more than double in February.
As it continues expanding to several new markets, Geely brands exported a total of 60,879 vehicles last month, a 138% year-on-year increase.
In its domestic market, the group surpassed BYD Co. — which includes BYD, Denza, Fang Cheng Bao and Yangwang brands — for the second consecutive month.
A Market Reopened
Canada signed a trade agreement on January 16, with Prime Minister Mark Carney agreed during a state visit to Beijing to lower tariffs on Chinese-made EVs to 6.1%.
In exchange, China reduced tariffs on Canadian canola and other agricultural products.
Under the deal, Canada will allow up to 49,000 Chinese-built electric vehicles per year at the reduced rate — a cap that will gradually increase to 70,000 units annually by 2030.
Global Affairs Canada opened the import permit process on March 1, with the first 24,500 permits available through August 31 on a first-come, first-served basis.
A second allocation of 24,500 permits is scheduled between September 2026 and February 2027.
Unifor, Canada’s largest private-sector union, called it “a self-inflicted wound” to a domestic auto sector already contending with US tariff pressure. US Trade Representative Jamieson Greer described the deal as “problematic.”
Ontario Premier Doug Ford, whose province employs nearly 100,000 auto workers, urged Québec and British Columbia earlier this Wednesday to scrap their provincial EV sales mandates in response to the shifting policy landscape.
Ford argued that maintaining them after the federal government repealed its own creates a fragmented market that disadvantages domestic manufacturers.
Geely’s Canadian Footprint
Unlike BYD and Chery — the two other Chinese automakers confirmed to be preparing for Canadian entry — Geely already has an established operational presence in the country through Volvo and Polestar.
Both brands previously imported China-manufactured vehicles to Canada before the October 2024 tariff wall went up.
Both hold existing Transport Canada certifications, giving Geely-linked brands a structural advantage in the quota framework over manufacturers starting from scratch.
Geely trademarked its premium electric brand Zeekr in Canada last year — signalling potential plans for a direct market entry alongside or instead of the Geely Auto nameplate.
BYD and Chery
BYD previously explored a Canadian launch in 2024 but halted preparations after the 100% tariff took effect.
Following the January trade agreement, a BYD executive described the development as a positive signal that prompted internal discussions about reviving Canadian expansion plans.
BYD is also actively considering building a manufacturing plant in Canada, though the company insists on owning and operating the facility outright rather than entering a joint venture.
Chery, China’s largest vehicle exporter, has begun recruiting staff in Canada to establish operations and applied to register multiple trademarks in the country last year, including Exeed, iCar, Jaecoo, Lepas, Luxeed, and Omoda.
Affordability? Later
Canada will not require any of the Chinese-built EVs entering the country over the next 12 months to meet the affordability threshold that Carney used to sell the deal to consumers, according to final regulations published in the Canada Gazette on March 11.
The provision for vehicles with import prices below C$35,000 — which Carney’s government framed as kickstarting the availability of more affordable EVs when the deal was struck in Beijing — does not take effect until the 2027 quota year.
“With this agreement, it is also anticipated that, in five years, more than 50% of these vehicles will be affordable EVs with an import price of less than C$35,000, creating new lower-cost options for Canadian consumers,” the Prime Minister’s office said on January 16.
The stepping schedule ramps slowly: 10% of the quota must be priced below C$35,000 in 2027, rising to 20% in 2028, 35% in 2029, and 50% by 2030. Quota years run from March through February.
The regulations govern import price at the border, not what consumers pay at dealerships — meaning Ottawa has no mechanism to ensure the affordability requirement translates into lower retail prices.
China-built vehicles are also ineligible for Canada’s relaunched Electric Vehicle Affordability Program, which offers rebates of up to C$5,000 only for vehicles produced domestically or in free-trade partner countries.
The lowest-cost EV currently on sale in Canada is the Kia EV4, which starts at C$42,185.
The average transaction price for an EV in the country was C$57,600 in 2025, according to J.D. Power data cited by Automotive News.
Ottawa has separately pushed Industry Minister Mélanie Joly to use the trade deal as leverage for Chinese EV joint ventures that would supply global markets from Canadian plants.
Geely sold 2.69 million vehicles globally in 2025 across all brands, up from 2.17 million in 2024.
