Fifty days after Canada and China struck a landmark trade deal that drew immediate condemnation from Washington, an audit of the country’s vehicle import registry reveals that almost no Chinese automaker has taken the regulatory steps needed to ship passenger cars to the country.
Of more than two dozen major Chinese passenger car manufacturers searched in Transport Canada’s Appendix G — the preclearance list of recognized foreign vehicle importers — only BYD Co. returned results for consumer vehicles, according to a review conducted by EV on Friday.
Chinese brands absent from the registry as of Friday morning include Chery, Geely, Nio, XPeng, Li Auto, Dongfeng, SAIC, MG, IM Motors, Great Wall Motor, GAC, Leapmotor, Zeekr, Lynk & Co, Changan, FAW, Voyah, Avatr, Deepal, Wuling, Omoda and Jaecoo.
The findings suggest that despite the political firestorm the January 16 agreement ignited on both sides of the border, the practical infrastructure for Chinese brands to enter Canada’s market barely exists.
The import quota system formally opened on Saturday.
BYD‘s four listings cover passenger cars from its Shenzhen and Xi’an factories, buses and trucks from Pingshan, and coach and school buses through its Lancaster, California operation.
The company’s premium sub-brands Denza, Yangwang and Fang Cheng Bao, all of which manufacture under the BYD corporate umbrella, are not separately listed but would be expected to fall under the parent company’s existing registrations.
Transport Canada paused new Appendix G applications for passenger vehicles last year.
The freeze forced every unlisted Chinese brand to wait for intake to reopen or rely on the slower case-by-case import approval process, which requires individual VIN-level review and cannot scale to thousands of vehicles.
Political Fallout
The trade agreement announced during Prime Minister Mark Carney’s state visit to Beijing on January 16 triggered an immediate backlash.
US Trade Representative Jamieson Greer called the deal “problematic” within hours of its announcement.
US Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy, speaking at a Ford manufacturing plant, said Canada would “regret” allowing Chinese EVs and that those vehicles would not be permitted to enter the United States.
“The reason why so many countries wanna come and build here is because President Trump has protected the American auto industry,” Duffy said.
Trump himself initially endorsed the deal. “Well, it’s okay. That’s what he should be doing,” the president told reporters at the White House.
“If you can get a deal with China you should do that.”
The US President later reversed course.
Senator Brian Schatz said the United States “got absolutely rolled,” arguing Washington’s deteriorating relationship with Ottawa had led to a foreign policy failure.
Trump trade adviser Peter Navarro warned that “BYD is the latest predatory pricing kid on the block” and that “Tesla will be a footnote if this keeps up.”
In Canada, Ontario Premier Doug Ford labeled Chinese EVs “spy vehicles” and called the agreement a “big, big problem.”
Conservative leader Pierre Poilievre described the vehicles as “roving surveillance systems.” Unifor, the country’s largest private-sector union, said the deal “puts Canadian auto jobs at risk.”
Geely Brands
Geely Automobile Holdings, China’s second-largest automaker, does not appear in the Appendix G registry under its own name. Neither do its sub-brands Zeekr and Lynk & Co.
Two Geely-controlled brands — Volvo and Lotus — do appear, though not through Chinese manufacturing entities.
Volvo is listed only through Volvo Group Mexico for buses and Volvo Trucks North America in Virginia for trucks.
No Volvo Cars passenger vehicle listing from China exists in the registry, despite the company having previously shipped its Chinese-made EX30 to Canada before the 100% tariff took effect.
Volvo subsequently shifted production of affected models to its Belgian factory.
Lotus Cars is listed through its traditional entities in Norwich, United Kingdom and Ann Arbor, Michigan — both for passenger cars.
These are legacy registrations predating Geely’s ownership and do not reference Chinese manufacturing.
On January 17, a day after the tariff agreement was announced, Lotus said the reduced tariff would allow it to cut the planned Canadian price of its Wuhan-produced Eletre SUV by approximately 50%.
Polestar, another Geely-controlled EV brand, is not listed in Appendix G.
The brand’s Canadian website currently offers only the Polestar 4 for new configuration. The Polestar 2 is available only as a pre-owned vehicle, while the Polestar 3 can be purchased solely from existing inventory.
Tesla Pulls Model 3 From Canadian Website
Tesla is absent from Appendix G, as the company imports through the larger-volume Appendix F preclearance program for importers handling more than 2,500 vehicles per year.
As reported by EV on Monday, Tesla removed the option to configure a Model 3 from its Canadian website, directing customers to remaining inventory units.
The move suggests Tesla may be preparing to resume importing Chinese-made Model 3 sedans under the new 6.1% tariff.
The company briefly shipped vehicles from Giga Shanghai through Vancouver in 2023, boosting Chinese automobile imports through the port by 460% year over year. It was forced to stop in 2024 after Ottawa imposed the 100% surtax.
While Tesla began importing Model Ys from its Berlin factory last year to bypass tariffs on US-built vehicles, it could not do the same for the Model 3 as the German plant only produces the SUV.
Tesla’s Canadian deliveries collapsed by more than 60% in 2025 to between 18,300 and 20,000 vehicles, down from roughly 55,000 in 2024, according to registration data compiled by DrivenTeslaCanada.
Sales began to recover in the fourth quarter after the company started importing from Berlin.
Chery Hiring but Not Registered
While Chery does not appear in the registry, the Wuhu-based automaker is actively preparing for the Canadian market.
Recruiters working on behalf of Chery have contacted Canadian auto industry professionals on LinkedIn about roles covering vehicle engineering, electrical architecture, intelligent driving and regulatory certification, with some messages specifically mentioning the Omoda and Jaecoo sub-brands, The Globe and Mail reported.
Chery announced a 2026 sales target of 3.2 million units, approximately 14% above last year. The company sold more than 2.8 million passenger cars in 2025, of which over 900,000 were new energy vehicles.
Approached by EV in January, BYD said it could not discuss its Canadian plans. “We sincerely apologize, but we are unable to share specific details on this matter at this time,” the company said.
XPeng declined to comment, while Nio and GAC Group did not respond. Li Auto said it is focused on Central Asia, the Middle East and Europe, making no mention of Canada.
Quota Mechanics
Under the framework published by Global Affairs Canada on February 24, the first 24,500 vehicles can enter between March 1 and August 31 on a first-come, first-served basis. A second allocation of 24,500 plus any unused first-half permits covers September 1 through February 28, 2027.
The quota will rise to 70,000 vehicles annually by 2030, with more than half required to be priced below C$35,000 by then.
Import permits are shipment-specific, valid for up to 60 days, and can be filed up to 30 days before a shipment’s expected arrival. Only original equipment manufacturers or their authorized Canadian representatives may apply.
Global Affairs spokesperson Samantha Lafleur said there is “no predetermined limit” on the number of permits per automaker, but the department “will monitor the application and issuance of import permits for the purpose of providing equitable access to the quota to eligible applicants.”
Trade History
Statistics Canada data show that imports of electric vehicles from China surged from less than 100 million Canadian dollars in 2022 to 2.2 billion Canadian dollars in 2023, representing approximately 44,400 vehicles — primarily Tesla Model Ys from the Shanghai Gigafactory.
Data compiled by the China Passenger Car Association showed China exported 41,700 new energy passenger vehicles to Canada in 2023, a 751% year-over-year surge.
In the first half of 2024, before the tariff took effect, exports reached 13,200 units, up 500% from a year earlier.
After the 100% tariff was imposed in October 2024, Chinese EV exports to Canada plummeted by 92% in the fourth quarter of that year, according to data cited by Chinese media outlet NBD.
Chinese-made brands previously exported to Canada included Tesla, Volvo and Polestar. Volvo, which had shipped its Chinese-made EX30, subsequently shifted production of affected models to its factory in Belgium.
Commercial Hurdles
BYD‘s regulatory standing gives it a head start, but the company must still certify individual models under Canadian Motor Vehicle Safety Standards, establish a dealer network and build service and warranty infrastructure before vehicles reach showrooms.
The company has operated a 45,000-square-foot electric bus assembly plant in Newmarket, Ontario since 2019, supplying vehicles to the Toronto Transit Commission and other Canadian transit operators.
BYD also operates its own fleet of roll-on, roll-off car carrier ships — an unusual capability that would allow it to control logistics for Canadian shipments.
Industry observers project demo units could arrive by mid-2026, with limited retail availability late in the year in Quebec and British Columbia, where EV adoption rates are highest.
Late last week, Finance Minister François-Philippe Champagne launched consultations to tighten Canada’s automotive remission framework, aiming to force global carmakers to choose between local production and stiff surtaxes on imports.
Industry Minister Mélanie Joly said in late January that she had held meetings with multiple automakers including BYD and Chery during Carney’s Beijing visit.
“I already had meetings with different automakers,” Joly said, naming “Hyundai, Volkswagen, BYD, Chery and many Chinese automakers” as examples.
“I think we have to be not naive, but we also have to be open minded,” the Industry Minister added.
