Canada's quota for Chinese-made EVs opens at 49,000 a year

Nearly half of British drivers say they would consider a Chinese car brand for their next vehicle. A Carwow survey of 1,270 UK drivers put the figure at 49%, up from 39% in late 2025 and 24% in early 2023. Recognition moved just as quickly — 71% of those drivers knew the BYD name, and half knew Chery, against 16% a year earlier.

Until this spring, that was an interesting question happening somewhere else. Canada applied a 100% surtax to Chinese-origin electric vehicles, which tended to end the conversation before it started.

That changed on March 1, 2026. The Order Amending the Import Control List (2026-1) records that "the surtax of 100% is repealed to ensure that eligible imports under the quota are only subject to the Most-Favoured-Nation (MFN) tariff of 6.1%". Global Affairs Canada describes the arrangement as "an initial country-specific quota of 49,000 electric vehicles (EVs) per year at a most-favoured-nation tariff rate of 6.1%". The same Gazette order sets the annual volume to rise 6.5% a year.

A wall became a door with a counter on it, and the counter is already moving. The first six-month period ran March 1 to August 31 with an available quantity of 24,500 vehicles; the government's own tracker shows it closed with 15,603 of the year's 49,000-vehicle quota used, and a second period opened September 1.

Two manufacturers show what that counter is buying. Tesla is not new to this: Electrek reports it supplied Canada with Shanghai-built Model 3 sedans alongside Fremont-built ones before the 2024 surtax, switched to Fremont only once the surtax hit, and relaunched the Shanghai-built Model 3 Premium RWD here on May 1, 2026 at $39,490 — a price not yet reflected in our own listing. Lotus is newer to the Canadian market: its Wuhan-built Eletre now appears in our own listings, and The Globe and Mail reports the company aims to be among the first to use the new permit system. The Autopian reports a starting price near $124,550 including freight — also not yet reflected in our own listing.

Neither is the mass-market brand British drivers were asked about. BYD, Chery, Omoda, Jaecoo, and Xpeng still do not appear anywhere in our listings — a quota is permission to import, not a dealer network or a finished safety certification for a brand-new nameplate.

Polestar remains the longest-established manufacturer here with a Chinese connection, its origin recorded as Sweden/China. The Polestar 2 lists at $59,950, and you can see every Polestar we track on one page.

So the honest answer to "can I buy a Chinese-made EV in Canada?" has changed twice this year: yes in principle as of March 1, and yes in practice, for two brands, as of this month. The number still worth watching is how much of the 49,000 actually arrives, because that is the difference between a policy on paper and a car on a lot.

We will update our listings as more models are confirmed for Canada.