According to a report by Bloomberg on June 23, local time, with the Shanghai super factory supplying the North American market for the first time, Canada’s imports of electric vehicles from China surged in May. Bloomberg cited the latest import and export data from China’s General Administration of Customs as showing that Canada imported a record $250 million worth of electric vehicles from China in May, reaching 6214 units, compared to only 88 units in the same period last year.
China exported about $3.3 billion of electric vehicles globally in May, meaning that Canada alone accounted for 8 percent of that.
Reuters exclusively revealed in April that Tesla’s Shanghai factory had begun production of a batch of Model Y’s for sale in Canada, the first time Tesla has exported a complete vehicle from China to North America. This is also Tesla’s Shanghai Gigafactory production of Model 3 and Model Y electric vehicles successfully into the European and New Zealand market, began to enter the North American market, especially Canada. Subsequently, the media has exposed that the Chinese-made Tesla electric cars began to leave Shanghai and sail to Canada. According to Tesla’s website, Canadian customers will be able to receive the new Model Y between May and July.
Now, Tesla electric vehicles are arriving in Canada. The Global Times reporter saw on Tesla’s Canadian website that the next single Model Y is now delivered in June or July. It shows that with the continuous arrival of vehicle products, Tesla’s delivery period for the Canadian market is constantly shortening.
The Tesla Shanghai Gigafactory, which started construction in January 2019, is currently Tesla’s largest factory in the world, and in 2022, the Shanghai Gigafactory produced about 726,000 Model 3 and Model Y, accounting for half of Tesla’s global deliveries. Tesla’s export plans show that Chinese-made Tesla electric vehicles will continue to flock to the Canadian market.
This is despite the fact that the Canadian government has recently been concocting various topics to undermine China-Canada relations. However, the Global Times reporter also noted that since the beginning of this year, the two countries have been showing a relatively obvious growth trend in economic and trade development. Figures just released by China’s General Administration of Customs show that in the first five months, bilateral trade between China and Canada reached 249.7 billion yuan, up 17 percent year-on-year. It ranks second among Western advanced economies after Australia’s 19 percent growth in bilateral trade with China. It is also significantly higher than the 4.7% growth rate of China’s overall imports and exports in the same period.
A signed article published by the Financial Post of Canada on May 21 argues that Canada needs to engage more with China. At a time when Sino-Canadian relations are strained, the idea of more engagement with China seems out of place. Not so much. This is the only realistic and effective way to manage bilateral relations with China, especially on trade.
Canada relies on trade for two-thirds of its gross domestic product – more than the global average, 2.5 times that of the United States, and 50 percent more than Australia. China is now the world’s second largest economy and the largest consumer and producer of many Canadian exports. As a result, China’s weight in the global market affects Canadian exports. The authors of the article emphasized that “even if you leave China, you will still encounter China elsewhere.”