Canada allows Chinese EVs into market

This is big for us, not just for allowing in Chinese cars, effective Mar 1. But also lifting tariffs on Canola and other farm products which was crippling our farmers.
 
brianc35 said:
I worry about privacy and data issues, how knows what's getting sent back from cameras...

/Tinfoil hat

Let's hope quality is better is better than temu products
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I think security and spying is a legitimate issue with those cars, and I wonder how they will resolve that. Having said that we now have all kinds of Chinese drones, dash cams, home security systems, etc, so this is nothing new. Heck, Tik Tok is probably the greatest risk, and it still hasn't been banned.

As for quality and service, time will tell. I hear good reports from some other countries about BYD and others. Will see. They used to say the same thing about Japanese and South Korean imports, and initially that may have been true. But not today, as many people trust Japanese cars over domestic for quality.

Even Trump has said now that he welcomes Chinese cars, IF they build US factories and hire US workers. So I think this door is open now, and our domestic auto manufacturers (and unions) are going to have to step up if they want to compete.

Then I hear about these "dark factories" coming. That is going to be another big game changer.
 
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R P said:
domestic auto manufacturers (and unions) are going to have to step up if they want to compete.
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Rachel Doran, executive director of Clean Energy Canada responded with the best statement I have read so far:
“Not only will this answer the problem of affordability very directly, with more affordable Chinese EVs for sale, but it sends a strong market signal to other automakers: the Canadian market is now competitive, so price your cars accordingly...
This decision will also help lay the foundation to maintain a strong EV Availability Standard in Canada, which will also help drive forward the entire EV market across Canada, drawing in lower-priced models from other manufacturers and ensuring predictability to build out Canada’s charging networks and electricity grid to help fix, once and for all, our broken EV market." ;)
 
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I'm looking forward to visiting Canada to sample some of the Chinese EVs. Given their cold winters, I suspect they will add value to EV performance.

Bob Wilson
 
While Trump may not have reacted negatively at this time, I believe that will be short lived. The US sees China as a major security threat and can't see how they will tolerate their northern neighbour having closer ties with their biggest adversary. A test will be coming shortly with the renegotiation of the USMCA. Will the US offer a carrot with a good deal, or give Canada the stick with more tariffs and other retaliatory measures?
 
R P said:
Will the US offer a carrot with a good deal, or give Canada the stick with more tariffs and other retaliatory measures?
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I believe the answer to this question is obvious from the new tariffs coming for countries not willing to support the surrender of Greenland. The concept of the carrot does not appear to be part of our current admnistration's toolkit.
 
insightman said:
I believe the answer to this question is obvious from the new tariffs coming for countries not willing to support the surrender of Greenland. The concept of the carrot does not appear to be part of our current admnistration's toolkit.
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Yeah, but there might be a difference between not supporting and openly opposing the acquisition of Greenland. Canada might be better off to keep our mouths shut about this.

This might not sound very patriotic (for Canada), but I would suggest that we actually should support Trump on this. We need to be pragmatic. The US is our biggest trading partner, by far, and they can indeed destroy us economically if they want. We do not want to poke the bear if we can help it. Look what happened when Premier Ford of Ontario launched that anti-tariff ad in the US. We were on the brink of a new trade deal with the US, and it was promptly put on the back burner after that.

Even Carney, our Prime Minister, said about China that we have to recognize what is, and not just what we might want it be. At the least he is trying to create options for us, to mitigate further US tariffs and sanctions against us. This is exactly what he said:
“It’s a partnership that reflects the world as it is today, with an engagement that is realistic, respectful and interest-based,” Carney said at a news conference in Beijing.
Carney said he raised human rights in the meeting with Xi, and said Canada has a “value-based realism” to its approach.
“We fundamentally stand up for human rights, for democracy, territorial integrity, rights to self-determination,” he said. “We take the world as it is, not as we wish it to be.”
 
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