Small in scale but clear in rules, Canada offers Chinese automakers a manageable entry point as a quota-based tariff window opens amid rising trade uncertainty across North America.
Photo from CFP
by WANG Zhen
As Canada continues to adjust its tariff regime on Chinese electric vehicles, early signs suggest that Chinese carmakers are beginning to test the market.
Jiemian News has learned that Chery Automobile is laying the groundwork for a potential market entry by building up teams through targeted recruitment, a move industry watchers see as a concrete step beyond exploratory discussions.
During Prime Minister Mark Carney's visit to China last month, Ottawa announced an annual quota of 49,000 Chinese-made electric vehicles, within which imports would be subject to a most-favored-nation tariff of 6.1%. Media reports have suggested the quota could be raised over the next five years. Carney also said more than half of Chinese-made EVs would be priced below 35,000 Canadian dollars (about 182,000 yuan).
Industry sources previously told Jiemian News that the quota-based approach would in the short term benefit brands such as Tesla and Geely-backed Polestar, while also opening a door for Chinese domestic automakers to explore the market.
Recruitment listings on Liepin show that Chery is hiring close to 10 North America–focused roles, spanning vehicle engineering, safety, electronic and electrical architecture, intelligent driving, and regulatory certification. Most positions require extensive industry experience, fluent English and international exposure. Product development and core engineering remain centered in Wuhu, Anhui province.
Chery has adopted a dual-location approach for product and market roles, splitting them between Wuhu and Toronto. Candidates for Canada-based positions are expected to start work in March or April, according to people familiar with the matter.
Industry insiders said the setup suggests that vehicle definition and engineering decisions remain headquarters-led, while local teams focus on user research, regulatory interpretation and early channel engagement, with both sides advancing in parallel until conditions allow a full local rollout.
"Chery's moves show it has entered a phase of substantive preparation," said MEI Songlin, a veteran auto industry analyst, adding that the company is moving to capture an export window for electric vehicles.
Chery has steadily expanded exports in recent years and has long ranked among China's top passenger vehicle exporters. Overseas sales have become a key pillar of its growth. The company has described itself as a "pioneer" of going global, saying it has led China's passenger car exports for 23 consecutive years. In 2025, Chery exported 1.344 million vehicles, up 17.4% year on year.
Chery Holding has not publicly commented on its Canada plans.
Chery's overseas push dates back more than two decades. It first exported vehicles to the Middle East in 2001, later building sales networks across South America, Africa, Europe and Southeast Asia. North America, however, has remained largely untapped.
Data released in December 2025 by Gasgoo Auto Research showed that Chery exported 28,600 vehicles to the European Union, Britain and European Free Trade Association countries that month, ranking first among Chinese brands. Exports to North America totaled just 2,531 units, reflecting constraints from trade conditions, market access barriers and limited brand premium, Gasgoo said.
Canada itself is not a large market. According to DesRosiers Automotive Consultants, vehicle sales reached 1.9 million units in 2025, up 2%. The market is highly concentrated, with General Motors, Ford, Toyota and Hyundai-Kia accounting for more than half of sales, and consumers placing strong emphasis on brand reputation, quality and after-sales service.
While Chery has experience operating in extreme cold markets such as Russia, much of that expertise comes from gasoline and hybrid models, leaving its applicability to pure EVs still to be tested.
Bill Russo, founder and chief executive of Shanghai-based consultancy Automobility, said Canada's appeal lies in its transparent regulatory system and credible technical standards. Its auto supply chain is closely linked with the United States, yet the political sensitivity is lower than a direct U.S. entry.
BYD, by contrast, has already made a compliance-level appearance in Canada. Jiemian News found that the company is listed in Transport Canada's Appendix G system, which records foreign automakers' compliance entities. The registry shows passenger vehicles manufactured in Shenzhen and Xi'an as intended export sources.
Entry into the system does not in itself signal market entry, but indicates that basic compliance procedures have been completed. Russo described BYD's status as a strategic "placeholder" rather than a confirmed launch, noting it still requires internal coordination and resources.
To sell vehicles in Canada, BYD models would still need to pass safety standards, battery and charging interface rules, as well as data and software compliance checks. The registry does not disclose when companies were added, making it unclear whether BYD's move was recent. Media reports have said the company paused its Canada plans in 2024 due to tariff concerns.
BYD told Jiemian News it has no additional information to disclose at this time.
During Carney's China visit, Industry Minister Mélanie Joly met executives from BYD, Chery and auto parts supplier Magna, encouraging them to consider investing in Canadian manufacturing within three years. Industry sources said Ottawa's outreach extends beyond vehicle imports to attracting companies capable of building local production and supply chains.
Analysts caution that decisions on local manufacturing will take time. Canada remains a "zero-to-one" market for Chery, with automakers typically entering via exports, building dealer networks, and only later assessing local production or joint ventures.
Even if efforts do not scale up, several industry analysts Jiemian News spoke to said the downside is limited. Canada offers a relatively low-cost environment for trial and error, while providing valuable experience in operating in a mature market.
For Chinese automakers, the significance may lie less in near-term sales than in keeping an option open. Chery's hiring spree in regulatory certification, E/E architecture, ADAS and connectivity roles, alongside building a Toronto-based North America node, is seen as assembling a future-ready passport.
With the U.S. market facing high barriers and geopolitical uncertainty, analysts see Canada as a path reserved for when conditions change.
"Open the door first, then watch how the situation evolves," Russo said.
