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Poll – Canada's Tariffs on Chinese Electric Vehicles
China is producing world-class electric vehicles, at prices far below what is offered for EVs in North America. The Canadian government, following moves by the US government, just announced that it will be imposing tariffs of 100% on EVs imported from China. This means that vehicles from Chinese automaker BYD, which typically go for around $30,000 in markets similar to Canada’s, will be more in the price range of a Tesla Model 3 (assuming the Model 3 is made in North America – they’re currently imported from China).
Canadian officials have said that this addresses unfair business practices that give Chinese automakers an advantage over the Canadian automobile industry. Considering the fact that Chinese cars can be sold at an 85% markup in foreign markets like Australia, there may be some merit to this argument. (Typical markup for domestically produced cars is in the range of 5-15%.)
From a strictly environmental point of view, however, reducing access to EVs is a concern. While federal officials claim that Chinese EVs are produced under poor environmental standards, this doesn’t seem to have been a concern so long as the EVs were Tesla’s.
For a very good write-up addressing environmental concerns, see Clean Energy Canada’s response to the tariffs, here.
What is your opinion regarding Canadian tariffs on Chinese-made EVs?
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