The wheels are turning in the wake of the Canada-China deal on allowing imports of some Chinese-made EVs into Canada. We reported last week on efforts by Chinese automakers Geely, Chery and BYD to hire personnel and acquire locations to set up dealership networks in Canada. Now, the first Chinese-EV rubber is hitting Canadian road.
As per CleanTechnica.com, citing an internal source at Chery’s export division in China, the automaker has shipped some 150 vehicles to Canada. Those won’t be going up for sale to customers; rather, they will be used for testing and to obtain certification for the vehicles to be allowed on Canadian roads, and for display at the showrooms being planned.
In all, in the initial phase, 10 showrooms are set to be open for business at some point in the third quarter of 2026 in Ontario and Quebec. Before that, CleanTechnica reports that Chery plans to deliver 1,000 more EVs to Canada in the next three months.
The vehicles Chery has brought to Canada
Evidently, Chery is attacking several segments at once, based on the vehicles that have appeared in-country so far. Among the models spotted in Toronto were the Jaecoo J5 crossover, Exelantis ES sedan, Chery Exeed premium SUV and, interestingly, the Omoda 9 plug-in hybrid model. That last choice surely reflects the company’s awareness of and desire to address the range anxiety issues that continue to affect reluctant buyers in a cold-weather market like Canada.
These vehicles aren’t actually the first Chinese-made EVs to enter Canada since the implementation of the trade agreement, under which up to 49,000 vehicles will be allowed into the country at a tariff rate of 6.1 percent instead of 100 percent. Tesla has taken advantage of the opening to bring in cheaper Chinese-made Model 3s, while Geely has imported a limited number of Lotus Eletre EVs. That model was already available in Canada, but with the 100-percent levy applied. Its price has now dropped by more than 50 percent, and it’s available at one of seven Lotus dealerships already in operation here, in Vancouver, Toronto, Oakville, Maple, Calgary and Montreal, as well as in Quebec City.
