Canada Gets First Lotus Eletre EVs in China Trade Deal
Get the Energy newsletter
Daily energy & climate — solar, EVs, oil, the policy fights and tech bets shaping the transition. Free.
- Lotus is shipping 18 Eletre electric SUVs to Montreal this month — the first Chinese-built EVs from a Chinese-owned brand to go on sale in Canada, with a launch ceremony planned later in the month.
- The Canada-China trade deal permits up to 49,000 Chinese EVs to be imported into Canada annually at reduced tariff rates as the country seeks to diversify its auto market and reduce dependence on US brands.
- Canada is pushing China to reduce its current 100% duty on Canadian canola oil and 25% duty on pork; tariff relief on canola meal, peas, and lobster — currently set to expire at the end of this year — is also on the negotiating table.
- Wang Yi, China's Minister of Foreign Affairs, indicated Canada could supply nearly 22 million metric tons of crude oil to China annually, up from roughly 15.5 million tons last year.
- The Lotus Eletre packs 905 horsepower, a 112 kWh battery delivering 304 miles of WLTP range, and runs on 22-inch wheels through a Lotus-tuned suspension; the brand is owned by China's Geely.
Why it matters: Canada is opening its market to up to 49,000 Chinese-built EVs per year at reduced tariffs — a real foothold for Geely and other Chinese automakers in North America — while betting that access can pry open Chinese markets currently hit with a 100% duty on canola oil and 25% on pork, a high-stakes trade-off for Canadian agricultural exporters.
