BYD Dolphin Surf electric at a vehicle presentation event in Berlin in May, 2025.Annegret Hilse/Reuters
Electric carmaker BYD Auto Co. Ltd. BYDDY is looking at opening dealerships in the Greater Toronto Area, positioning itself to be among the first Chinese automakers to sell in Canada under Prime Minister Mark Carney’s move to allow in 49,000 of the country’s EVs, an industry consultant says.
Farid Ahmad, chief executive officer of Dealer Solutions Mergers & Acquisitions in Markham, Ont., said his consultancy is in talks with three locations for possible BYD stores.
BYD wants to establish 20 dealerships within a year, starting in the Toronto area, followed by Vancouver, Montreal and Calgary, he said.
“They’ve asked us to help them find as many of the 20 that they possibly can, but they’re out there doing that themselves, as well,” Mr. Ahmad said by phone. “We have been engaged with a number of Chinese manufacturers that are looking to establish their dealer network here in Canada.”
China’s Chery Automobile Co. is also set to join the Canadian market, he said.
Publicly traded BYD last year became the world’s top-selling maker of electric cars with sales of 2.26 million battery-only passenger EVs, well ahead of industry heavyweight Tesla, plus a similar number of plug-in hybrid electric vehicles. The domestic auto industry sees Chinese EVs as threats, given their often lower prices, cheaper labour and – in some cases – state ownership.
Why BYD’s first manufacturing foothold in Canada was a bust
Chinese carmaker Chery eyes expansion into the Canadian EV market
Mr. Ahmad said the Chinese companies prefer to operate stand-alone dealerships, but might sell though existing dealer networks to save money and time. The 49,000 cap is fairly small compared with Canada’s 1.8 million yearly overall sales, he said, and is not enough to sustain many dealerships.
BYD and Chery did not respond to e-mailed questions.
Canada in January agreed to reduce the tariffs on Chinese EVs to 6.1 per cent from 100 per cent in exchange for lower Chinese duties on Canadian canola, lobsters, crabs and peas.
The EV import quota rises to 70,000 vehicles in five years – more than half of which will sell for less than $35,000 – and is expected within three years to attract Chinese joint-venture investment in the Canadian EV supply chain, Ottawa said when it announced the change in January.
Mr. Carney, who recently scrapped the federal EV sales mandate, has also announced large investments in charging infrastructure and consumer rebates for EV purchases. The subsidies do not apply to Chinese EVs, and are for made-in-Canada cars and those produced in countries with which Ottawa has a free-trade agreement.
B.C. and Quebec have their own EV incentive plans.
Reducing the Chinese EV tariff has angered carmakers with Canadian operations, who say the Chinese companies enjoy unfair cost advantages, including – in some cases – state ownership.
Canada and the United States imposed 100-per-cent tariffs on Chinese EVs in 2024, saying the duties would protect domestic manufacturers from unfair trading and manufacturing practices. However, as vehicles prices rose there were calls from consumers for Canada to allow in Chinese EVs, some of which are more affordable, and will help Canadians reduce greenhouse gas emissions.
The company’s cars are popular throughout China and other parts of Asia, as well as several European countries, Mexico, South America and more recently, Australia. BYD offers a range of models and sizes of passenger EVs, such as compact crossovers, sedans and hatchbacks. The vehicles receive generally positive reviews and are usually priced competitively in their categories.
The Globe and Mail reported in January that Chery Automobile is planning to enter the Canadian market, approaching potential employees ahead of a possible launch.
