Canada

Archived link

...

The AutoTrader 2026 Electric Vehicle Survey has polled 1,761 Canadians between February 9 and March 11, with the results showing that 53% of them are interested in Chinese EVs.

Of those, 74% have admitted that pricing is the main reason, with half noting that longer driving range is also being considered.

However, the study also found that 50% of those interested have reservations about data collection by the Chinese automakers.

“Some concerns remain, and there are still areas to bridge for example, 50% of intenders are still concerned about how data is collected, used and stored by EVs from Chinese brands,” the study read.

Consumer concerns echo those raised by several government officials and politicians.

The Conservative Party has partly based its opposition of Chinese EVs entering Canada on potential surveillance risks.

“We’re hearing loud and clear from security experts: Chinese electric vehicles have the capability, for all intents and purposes, of being surveillance vehicles,” Conservative shadow minister for industry Raquel Dancho said earlier this year.

...

As Prime Minister Mark Carney unveiled the China–Canada deal — allowing 49,000 Chinese EVs to enter Ottawa each year at a reduced 6.1% tariff — [Premier of Ontario] Doug Ford had already criticized the vehicles as “spy cars” and described the agreement as “Huawei 2.0.”

“I find it ironic that the Prime Minister is using a burner phone and all his staff over in China, but we’re making a deal — it’s Huawei 2.0 — to come back and send to Canada, and we get nothing but potential job losses in our factories right across the border,” the province leader said.

...

Margaret McCuaig-Johnston, from the China Strategic Risks Institute, said that there’s a threat of surveillance stemming from software in Chinese EVs that links to mobile networks and often the driver’s personal phone.

Other analysts and former officials, including attorney George Takach, have testified about the security risks.

According to these experts, Chinese EVs often use software (like the country’s tech giant Baidu) that can collect camera, microphone, GPS, and even phone data — even when the car is off — and transmit it back to China under the country’s national security laws.

...

Earlier, reports showed that even with Carney’s new deal, don’t expect to buy a cheap Chinese EV any time soon.

Nothing about the recent deal means the sky is falling on Canada’s auto industry, nor does it mean Canadian drivers will suddenly enjoy a raft of cheap Chinese EVs ...

Consumers shouldn’t get too excited; Carney’s deal doesn’t necessarily mean you’ll be able to put a $15,000 or $20,000 EV from BYD or Geely in your driveway anytime soon, if ever.

“If anybody’s thinking that A) there will be Chinese vehicles on the road in the next few weeks and B) that they’re going to be cheap, they’re probably being a little naïve,” said Greig Mordue, an associate professor at McMaster University specializing in advanced manufacturing and public policy ...