Three of China’s largest automakers are moving toward their first consumer vehicle sales in Canada by the year’s end, with certification work and retail network development already underway.
According to DSMA, a buy-sell and advisory firm brokering discussions between Chinese manufacturers and Canadian dealers, the first EVs are planned to arrive Ottawa by the year end.
“We expect the vehicles will start landing by the end of this year,” Jason Zhao, director of Asian market development at DSMA, told Automotive News.
The three brands — BYD Co., Chery Automobile Co. and Geely Holding — are working through homologation requirements, local financial partnerships and dealer network development in parallel.
None is ready to begin shipments immediately, Zhao said, with months of certification work still ahead.
The statements from DSMA add a concrete timeline to what has until now been a patchwork of preparatory signals.
EV reported last week that BYD had registered its passenger vehicle manufacturing plants with Transport Canada’s Appendix G preclearance registry — the first Chinese automaker to do so for consumer vehicles.
In January, recruiters working on behalf of Chery had begun approaching Canadian auto industry professionals on LinkedIn about roles tied to the company’s Omoda and Jaecoo sub-brands.
Geely‘s inclusion is the newest confirmation.
The Chinese conglomerate already operates in Canada through its Sweded-based brands Volvo and Polestar, but its own nameplate has not previously been confirmed as a Canadian market target.
Geely trademarked its premium electric brand Zeekr in Canada last year, as first reported by Automotive News.
The Quota
The three automakers are moving against the backdrop of a trade reset between Ottawa and Beijing finalised in January.
Prime Minister Mark Carney agreed during a state visit to Beijing that Canada would allow up to 49,000 Chinese-made EVs annually at the most-favoured-nation tariff rate of 6.1% — replacing the 106.1% rate imposed in October 2024.
The quota rises to 70,000 units by the fifth year of the arrangement, with a requirement that more than half of vehicles be priced below C$35,000 by 2030.
China in turn lowered tariffs on Canadian canola exports.
Global Affairs Canada opened the permitting process on March 1.
The first 24,500 import permits are available on a first-come, first-served basis through August 31, with a second tranche of equal size covering September through February 2027.
Permits are shipment-specific, valid for up to 60 days, and can be filed up to 30 days before a vessel’s expected arrival.
Only original equipment manufacturers or their authorised Canadian representatives may apply, excluding grey-market intermediaries.
Despite the window now being open, BYD, Chery and Geely are not yet in a position to file permits.
Homologation — the process of certifying a vehicle against Canada’s safety and emissions requirements — remains the primary bottleneck.
Automakers with vehicles already certified for the Canadian market hold an advantage with fewer steps needed until the first EVs arrive showrooms.
Tesla, Volvo and Polestar — all of which have previously imported Chinese-manufactured vehicles into Canada — could move quickly by ensuring compliant parts are in place for their Chinese production lines, Beatty said.
Tesla Gets Ready
Tesla appears to be positioning itself to move first.
As EV reported last week, Tesla removed the option to configure a new Model 3 from its Canadian website and began withdrawing demonstration and inventory units from showrooms.
The company currently manufactures the Model 3 in both the United States and China.
It cannot replicate its Berlin workaround — used for Model Y to avoid US-build tariffs — because the German factory does not produce the sedan.
The removal points toward a resumption of Chinese-made Model 3 imports under the new 6.1% rate, a route Tesla last used briefly in 2023 when it shipped vehicles from Giga Shanghai to Vancouver, driving Canadian automobile imports from China up 460% year over year.
Chery
Chery has been the most visible in its pre-entry activity despite not yet appearing in the Appendix G registry.
The Wuhu-based automaker submitted trademark filings in Canada last year for several of its sub-brands, including Exeed, iCar (iCAUR), Jaecoo, Lepas, Luxeed and Omoda & Jaecoo.
The company sold more than 2.8 million passenger cars in 2025, of which over 900,000 were new energy vehicles, and has set a 2026 sales target of 3.2 million units.
BYD
BYD‘s Appendix G registrations cover its Shenzhen and Xi’an passenger car plants, which produce models including the Seal, Dolphin, Atto 3 and Seagull — marketed as the Dolphin Surf in Europe.
The company has operated an electric bus assembly plant in Newmarket, Ontario since 2019, giving it an existing Canadian corporate and operational presence to build on.
When approached by EV in January, BYD said it was “unable to share specific details” on its Canadian plans.
The Political Headwinds
The quota has drawn sustained domestic opposition.
Ontario Premier Doug Ford labeled Chinese EVs “spy vehicles” and called for a consumer boycott. Conservative leader Pierre Poilievre described them as “roving surveillance systems.”
Unifor, Canada’s largest private-sector union, said the arrangement “puts Canadian auto jobs at risk” and that Ottawa had surrendered negotiating leverage it could have used against US auto tariffs.
“Finding a resolution to US auto tariffs just got more difficult as Canada has surrendered the leverage of opening our market to China,” Unifor National President Lana Payne said.
The deal has also attracted scrutiny from Washington.
President Donald Trump initially voiced support before reversing course, warning that Canada risked becoming a transit point for Chinese goods entering the United States and threatening sweeping tariffs in response.
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 commitments and stiff surtaxes on imports.
