LET’S TALK TARIFFS
Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau announced that Canada will impose a 100 percent surtax on Chinese-made EVs, including hybrid vehicles, trucks and buses. The 100 percent surtax, applied to all Chinese-made EVs, will take effect October 1, 2024. A 25 percent surtax on imports of steel and aluminum products from China will also take effect October 15, 2024. The Prime Minister accused China of violating international trade rules and attempting to give itself an “unfair edge” in the emerging global EV market, adding that tariffs will “level the playing field for Canadian workers” and allow for competitive Canadian and North American industry. China rebutted by accusing Canada of protectionism.
IT’S HERE
The time has come. You are one step closer to seeing a Cybertruck in your repair bay. Tesla has officially launched the Cybertruck in Canada and has also confirmed that the electric truck will not be affected by the federal luxury tax. The federal luxury tax, which was introduced in 2022, is normally applicable to vehicles costing more than $100,000. According to the regulations, the amount taxed is either 10 percent of the taxable value of the vehicle or 20 percent of the amount that the vehicle’s price exceeds the $100,000 threshold, whichever is the lesser amount. As a result, for the Cybertruck, the 20 percent rule would have applied, meaning that the luxury tax would have added $8,173.20 for the all-wheel drive (AWD) variant and $13,773.20 for the tri-motor variant. However, Tesla has negotiated the removal of the tax by citing the fact that the vehicle’s weight—4,000 kg—makes it above the weight threshold for the luxury tax.
DATA AT YOUR FINGERTIPS
The Canadian federal government has released the ZEV Council Dashboard, which provides quarterly updates on Canada’s EV market share; data on incentive program uptake; information on the deployment on charging and hydrogen refuelling stations and federal investments in the ZEV space. Launched in partnership with Transport Canada and the ZEV Council, this online tool aims to show consumers and industry members data from several different sources across the country for EV adoption and charging station availability. The data on this new dashboard demonstrates that in Q1 2024, Quebec and British Columbia were in the lead in Canada in terms of EV adoption at 28.3 percent and 22.7 percent respectively.
Market penetration of light-duty EVs was high in the Yukon in Q1 2024 at 11.4 percent and was the third highest-adopting jurisdiction in Canada in the quarter. Following this, Prince Edward Island came in at 8.2 percent, with Ontario following at 7.9 percent.
