A Canada trade deal requires Chinese automakers to establish joint ventures to manufacture electric vehicles or batteries in Canada within three years to reduce dependence on the U.S.
BYD planned a 2024 Canadian entry but dropped it after Ottawa imposed a 100 percent tariff; BYD is considering a Canadian plant. BYD executive vice president Stella Li told Bloomberg she prefers BYD-owned plants rather than joint ventures.
Stellantis is in early talks with Zhejiang Leapmotor Technology Co. to build EVs in Canada, potentially at the idled Brampton, Ontario plant. Stellantis bought a 20 percent stake in Leapmotor in 2023 and formed Leapmotor International.
Unifor warned Leapmotor could use Brampton for knockdown kits, and U.S. rules will restrict imports of vehicles with Chinese software from 2027 and Chinese hardware from 2030. Guangzhou Automobile Group (GAC) plans to build vehicles in Mexico later this year.
This summary is based on coverage by MotorTrend.
Read the full article at MotorTrend.
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