Industry Minister Says BYD, Geely, and Chery are Open to Canadian Manufacturing Joint Ventures

• The three large Chinese automakers could produce cars in Canada to avoid import tariffs.

• Minister Joly says these brands are willing to form joint ventures to this effect, but few details are known.

• Stellantis had already talked about Chinese partnerships as a possible solution for its Brampton factory.

As Chinese automakers prepare to enter the Canadian market, three of the country’s largest automakers are reportedly willing to manufacture vehicles in Canada under joint ventures.

Indeed, Industry Minister Mélanie Joly recently met with representatives from BYD, Geely, and Chery during a visit to China, who all seemed open to this idea.

While details are still few and far between, Automotive News Canada reports that Ottawa has stipulated that these companies must invest through majority Canadian-owned joint ventures that rely on local supply chains in order to set up a manufacturing presence in Canada.

Producing cars on Canadian soil would allow Chinese automakers to sell more than the recently instated cap of 49,000 vehicles per year without being subject to additional tariffs.

Since Tesla and Polestar are expected to use up most of that quota for 2026 and most likely for 2027 as well, setting up production facilities locally could be one of the only ways in which Chinese automakers could sell significant numbers of cars in Canada.

Despite this uncertain market access, BYD, Geely, and Chery are all in the process of setting up sales and service networks in Canada, which suggests they really do intend to find partners to build cars locally.

This is not the first time we are hearing about possible joint ventures with Chinese automakers in Canada, as Stellantis put the idea forward a few weeks ago while trying to find new uses for its Brampton assembly plant, which has been sitting idle since the end of 2023.

Indeed, the Euro-American company talked about building Chinese electric vehicles from its partner Leapmotor in Brampton, but the plan was abandoned after Ottawa and Unifor, the union representing Brampton auto workers, refused to accept this solution as it would have employed too few workers. Stellantis hasn’t closed the door on different strategies that also involve Leapmotor, however.

It is still unclear what joint ventures between Canadian companies and Chinese automakers will look like, but more details are expected fairly soon, as partnerships will need to be set up quickly for BYD, Geely, and Chery to benefit in the near term.

Source: Automotive News Canada