zero emission EV

Numbers in context − Chinese EV’s: Is 3% significant?

Canada renegotiated a trade deal with China recently. Trying to fix a bunch of issues with tariffs and Canadian agricultural produce, leveraged with the import of 49,000 Chinese-made EV’s. Those 49,000 cars would make up 3% of the vehicles sold in Canada. Of course the auto-industry in Ontario is annoyed because it will hurt the industry. So how big is 3%, and will it really make a difference?

3% of anything is quite insignificant. If I looked at the back of a container of hot chocolate and it told be that 1 tablespoon of the powder provided 1% of daily protein, I would say that’s extremely insignificant. I would have to drink hot chocolate made with 100 tablespoons of the chocolate powder to get my daily requirement of protein. But people get scared about numbers because they perhaps don’t understand them. So let’s look at the stats (all for 2024, because complete data for 2025 isn’t yet available):

  • There were 1,918,861 new motor vehicles sold in Canada.
  • Zero-emission EVs (ZEV’s) accounted for 13.8% (264,277 units) of units sold.
  • 1.294 million vehicles were produced in Canada.
  • There are over 110 EV models available for sale in Canada.
  • Canada exported C$41.4B worth of cars.
  • Canada imported C$50.3B worth of cars.
  • Only 12% of cars manufactured in Canada are sold in Canada.

So when looking at the stats, it seems like there is about a 625,000 difference between new vehicles sold and vehicles produced. But that’s not the full story, because Canada exports a good majority of the cars it produces (C$41.4B worth). While the US is currently the number one market (C$38.9B), others include China (C$328M), United Arab Emirates (C$276M), and Netherlands (C$141M). So if you export vehicles, to make up the short-fall you have to import some. In fact from a monetary value, Canada imports more than it exports. And where do these imports come from? The majority come from the United States (C$20.3B), Mexico (C$7.98B), Japan (C$7.29B), South Korea (C$6.17B), and Germany (C$3.62B).

It’s hard to find an exact number of cars actually exported, because most places can’t even agree on the exact value of cars exported, although the Department of Finance Canada suggests 1.1M vehicles were exported in 2024. That really doesn’t leave a lot of cars for Canada. Let’s do the math: 1.294M−1.1M = 194,000 vehicles for domestic use (roughly, again without exact figures, its hard to give exact numbers. That math gives us roughly 10% of the vehicles sold in Canada in 2024, so the figures aren’t too far off.

But you know one figure nobody seems to talk about? The number of zero-emission EV’s produced in Canada. Why? Because it’s abysmally low. In fact to date (Feb.2026) only some 40,000 have been built. So in order to make up the shortfall, you have to import most of them. Canada currently manufactures a bunch of low-emission cars, here is a list (Feb.2025) with base prices (without the additional things they like to charge for cars included):

  • Chrysler Pacifica Hybrid $59,995
  • Dodge Charger Daytona EV $54,790 (cancelled in April ’25)
  • Lexus NX hybrid $60,000
  • Lexus RX hybrid $63,000
  • Honda Civic Hybrid Sedan $34,100
  • Honda CR-V Hybrid $45,900
  • Toyota RAV4 hybrid $37,500

You’ll notice however, that six are hybrids, and only one is (or rather was) a ZEV (that got the chop due to uber-low sales). So if there are currently no zero-emission EV’s being produced, that would imply, and they all have to be imported? Right? So all of the 110 EV models available to Canadians are imported. So really, what’s another one or two? Here’s the reality − 3% is nothing. This is especially relevant because Canada only keeps around 12% of the cars it produces for the domestic market. But that’s not a number that anyone ever talks about, because it’s an unsavoury statistic. The Canadian auto market relies heavily on imports, so who cares if another company takes 3% of the sales market?

It might be more meaningful if Canada manufactured any ZEV’s, but as yet we don’t, just hybrids. And even if we exported no cars, and only used what we produced in Canada, we would still be short some 625,000 cars on a yearly basis. This is why you often have to dig a little deeper, because companies and governments like to use numbers to their own benefit.

Here are the statistics to take away from this discussion:

  • Canada only retains approximately 10% of the vehicles it produces for the domestic market.
  • Canada has to import 90% of the vehicles it sells every year.
  • Canada currently produces no ZEV’s, only hybrids.
  • 3% of vehicles sold in Canada is so insignificant, its not worth worrying about, considering 90% of vehicles sold in Canada are imports (even if many come from the U.S.).

There is probably a lot more to say on the topic, but to get the complete picture you have to look at all the data. As to worrying about US car makers moving their production south? Well Japanese companies already account for just over 60% of auto assembly employment in Canada as of 2024. If Canada wants to build ZEV’s, maybe it’s time to look towards other international partners, and why not China who produces some 70% of worlds EV’s.