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Tracker · updated May 26, 2026

Chinese EV imports into Canada

Canadian passenger-vehicle imports from China by month and CAD value, sourced from Statistics Canada Table 12-10-0178-01 (NAPCS 81). Tesla Model Y built in Shanghai is the dominant contributor.

2026 value year-to-date
$261M
through Mar 2026
Estimated vehicles 2026 YTD
≈ 6,139
assumes ~$43k declared value per vehicle
Year over year
+205%
vs. same 3-month window prior year

Monthly imports, last 24 months

Apr20252026Mar$271.1M

What this number actually counts

Statistics Canada categorises this trade lane under NAPCS code 81, "Passenger cars and light trucks". That bundle includes BEVs, PHEVs, and ICE vehicles together — but Tesla Model Y built in Shanghai dominates Chinese-origin passenger-vehicle exports to Canada, so the series tracks Chinese EV imports closely in practice.

Tariff timeline

  • Before October 2024: standard MFN tariff. 2023 imports peaked around $2.2B / ~44,400 vehicles, mostly Tesla Model Y from Shanghai.
  • October 2024: Canada imposed a 100% surtax on Chinese EVs in line with US policy. Q4 2024 imports dropped roughly 92%.
  • March 2026: A new quota framework took effect: up to 49,000 vehicles per year at a 6.1% tariff rate, rising to 70,000 by year five. First window (March-August 2026) capped at 24,500.

How we estimate vehicle counts

StatCan publishes value (CAD) for this lane, not units. We back-estimate vehicles by dividing the monthly value by an assumed $42,500 CAD declared customs value per vehicle, anchored to 2024 reporting on Tesla's Shanghai-to-Canada Model Y shipments — the dominant share of NAPCS 81 imports from China. Declared customs value is what the importer reports to CBSA on entry, which is materially lower than the retail MSRP a buyer eventually pays. Treat the vehicle count as an estimate with roughly ±15% error, not an exact figure; we revisit the assumed value annually as the import mix shifts.

Methodology

Source: Statistics Canada Table 12-10-0178-01 (Canadian international merchandise trade for imports by country of origin and country of export, customs-based, monthly). Monthly granularity with a ~2-month release lag (April 2026 data typically lands in mid-June 2026). Our worker re-pulls the latest 24 months from the StatCan WDS API every day at 09:00 ET; revisions to prior months are picked up automatically.

Sources