Import permits for Chinese-built EVs under the Ottawa-Beijing tariff deal have slowed to a trickle in the second half of the quota year, with just 160 issued in September through the 25th against 33,397 available.
The figure comes from Global Affairs Canada’s utilization report updated every Friday.
The latest update shows 15,763 vehicles permitted since the quota year began on March 1, out of an annual ceiling of 49,000, leaving 33,237 permits unused with five months to run to February 28, 2027.
The September total is 0.5% of the second-window allocation.
July and August had run at 5,982 and 5,490 permits respectively.
The report shows only the month’s running total, so whether the 160 arrived in one early batch or over several weeks cannot be determined from the data.
What the Report Shows
Global Affairs Canada now presents the full quota year as a single line, with a maximum of 49,000, rather than the 24,500 first-window ceiling that headed earlier reports.
Beneath it, the first period from March 1 to August 31 closed at 15,603 permits.
The second period, which opened on September 1 with 24,500 new permits plus 8,897 carried over from the first, stands at 160.
Of the 160, 153 are fully electric passenger cars with a free-on-board value above C$35,000 ($24,700) and seven are below that line.
No permits were drawn in September for electric SUVs or vans, or for hybrids.
The data carries no manufacturer names, so any attribution to a brand is an inference from third-party reporting and product timing.
The Summer Surge
The first window’s volume came in batches.
March and April recorded nothing. May brought a single spike of 3,510 vehicles, all above the C$35,000 line, while June fell to 621.
July set the record at 5,982 and August followed with 5,490. July was dominated by the line for electric passenger cars at or below C$35,000, which accounted for 4,743 of the month’s 5,982 permits.
In August that line took 2,597, slightly fewer than the 2,893 above the threshold.
The cheaper line is consistent with Shanghai-built Tesla Model 3s, which Tesla moved to Canada from a C$39,490 ($27,900) retail price this year, though Tesla has not confirmed its quota use.
In September, that line drew seven permits.
The 153 pricier cars are compatible with Polestar‘s plan, announced in June, to begin importing the China-built Polestar 2 in September at C$69,900 ($49,300), which would place those imports in the second window.
The data cannot show whether any of the 153 are Polestars, and Polestar has not disclosed shipment numbers.
First Window Closes at 64%
Friday’s report also finalizes the first-period ledger by product line.
Electric passenger cars at or below C$35,000 finished at 7,805 units. Those above C$35,000 finished at 7,495.
Electric SUVs and vans above C$35,000 stayed at 44, all imported in June and July.
Non-plug-in hybrid SUVs above C$35,000 stayed at 259, all in July, matching Ford‘s revival in Canada of the Hangzhou-built Lincoln Nautilus hybrid, Automotive News Canada reported in August.
Ford has not confirmed the Nautilus as a quota import.
The first window therefore ended at 15,603 of 24,500 permits, or 63.7%, with 8,897 unused.
Under the terms of the February notice, those rolled into the second window.
Monthly figures in the Global Affairs Canada reports are not final at month-end. July was revised up by 300 vehicles in a subsequent report, so September’s 160 may yet move.
An Unfilled Quota
If the remaining five months matched the first window’s best pace of roughly 5,500 to 6,000 vehicles a month, the year would close with 43,000 to 46,000 permits drawn.
At the first window’s actual average of about 2,600 a month, the year would end near 29,000, leaving some 20,000 of the 49,000 permits unused.
The quota is due to rise 6.5% when the second year begins in March 2027.
From that date, at least 10% of imports must fall at or below the C$35,000 free-on-board threshold, rising to 50% by 2030.
In the current year the requirement is zero, yet the cheaper line already leads cumulatively, 7,805 to 7,495.
Chinese-built vehicles remain ineligible for Canada’s federal consumer rebate of up to C$5,000 ($3,500), which is limited to vehicles built in Canada or free-trade partner countries.
Missing Brands
The stall reflects who is not yet importing.
BYD has been testing four models in Canada and hiring, but its Canadian site still says “Coming Soon” and no launch date has been given.
Chery‘s Omoda & Jaecoo opened a Canadian website last week saying its vehicles are “coming late 2026,” but none of its imports have appeared in any line of the data.
Nor have any Geely-branded vehicles, although a Geely EX5 was spotted in Toronto on manufacturer plates.
Geely-owned Lotus delivered a first batch of about 20 Wuhan-built cars in July.
Dongfeng‘s Canadian distributor targets 2027.
XPeng‘s Alex Tang told EV at a round table in Munich that Canada’s “door is open” and that its entry would be long-term rather than a handful of cars.
Second-window permits are issued first-come, first-served under Notice Serial No. 1168 of August 29.
Importers must be Canadian residents and original equipment manufacturers of electric vehicles, or the Canadian agent of a non-resident manufacturer.
Permits are shipment-specific, can be applied for up to 30 days before entry and are valid for up to 60 days.
Eligible imports pay the 6.1% most-favoured-nation tariff in place of the 100% surtax that applied before the January deal.
