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Canada Adds 100% Tariff On Chinese-Made EVs
Following the US and generally demonstrating a lack of original thought, Canada plans to add a 100% tariff to Chinese-made Electric Vehicles.
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This week on The Change Optimist podcast, I interview Alan Cross of ‘Ongoing History of New Music’ fame.
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-Growdy
Canada Adds 100% Tariff On Chinese-Made EVs
Tesla China-Made Model 3s
Following the US tariff plans and generally demonstrating a lack of original thought, Canada plans to add a 100% tariff on Chinese-made electric vehicles and a 25% tariff on imported steel and aluminum. The duties apply to all EVs manufactured in and shipped from China, including models made by Polestar, Tesla, Ford and GM. The tariffs will be imposed starting October 1, 2024. reuters.com, bbc.com, ctvnews.ca, bloomberg.com, apnews.com, nytimes.com, nationalpost.com, cbc.ca
It is a counter-intuitive move since the Canadian federal government also incentivizes the purchase of new electric vehicles. A $74,000 Polestar 2 eligible for a $5,000 tax credit today could cost nearly $150,000 come the fall, putting it in the price range to be subjected to Canada’s luxury vehicle tax. financialpost.com, canada.ca
Insert sad tube here.
These tariffs intend to “level the playing field.” What Trudeau's government is really saying is that Canada can only allocate $46 billion to accelerate the production of electric vehicles, critical material refinement and battery production — versus China’s estimated $230 billion. They hope these protectionist measures will buy time for the likes of Ford and GM (both producing electric vehicles in China) to produce electric cars in Canada. And Ford may not even want to for a while. pbo-dpb.ca, cnbc.com, financialpost.com, cbc.ca
Elon wants special treatment in Canada, similar to what he’s been granted by the EU, to let Chinese-made Teslas continue to sell into Canada. reuters.com
Unlike the EU, US and Canada, Britain has no Chinese EV tariffs. economist.com
Meanwhile, in Mexico, Chinese EV manufacturer BYD is selecting a location for their North American production facility and seeking local government incentives to build it. Putting BYD production within the boundaries of the USMCA would potentially render both Canadian and American tariffs redundant. theglobeandmail.com
Will China institute any retaliatory tariffs in response? You bet your ass they will. And they are likely to target different industries and products that hurt other types of Canadian businesses, like dairy, canola, crude oil and lumber. theglobeandmail.com
These protectionist measures might buy North American vehicle and parts manufacturers some time. The question is, how much time and is it enough time to make a difference?
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Way More Waymo
Waymo’s Sixth-gen Robotaxi, A Chinese Made Minivan
ICYMI: While some autonomous vehicle technology companies are dragging pedestrians in the streets or delaying product launches, Waymo delivers on the promise of autonomous robotaxis. reuters.com, bloomberg.com
In most parts of the world, this sounds like science fiction. However, where Waymo operates, they now give over 100,000 robotaxi rides a week. techcrunch.com
Sure, occasionally, the Waymo vehicles jack up the same on-ramp techcrunch.com
Other times, they honk at each other endlessly in the night. usatoday.com
But progress is being made. Waymo’s service is expanding across San Francisco, Los Angeles and Phoenix. Waymo’s newest model includes fewer sensors built around a minivan manufactured by Chinese OEM Zeekr. theverge.com, theverge.com, wired.com, techcrunch.com
Parent company Alphabet appears to approve of the progress, recently dropping another $5 Billion into the self-driving division. We can expect to see way more Waymos on the road. cnbc.com
China’s Automotive Expansion
Jiyue 07
Tech giant Baidu and auto OEM Geely are taking pre-orders for the Jiyue 07, claiming it to be the most intelligent car on the planet. carnewschina.com
The Neta S wagon will be the first vehicle to use the CATL-built skateboard. carnewschina.com
GAC’s new electric motor claims to have the world’s highest speed of up to 30,000 rpm. carnewschina.com
Zeekr plans to build a midsize EV SUV, the Zeekr 7X, to compete with the Tesla Model Y. cnbc.com
People think Chery’s Fulwin T11 really looks Range Rover-ish. carscoops.com
BYD and Huawei team up on driver assistance tech. cnevpost.com
Hedin Mobility Group in Stuttgart, Germany, announced the sale of its German distribution network to BYD. reuters.com
BYD expects ‘nearly half’ of its sales to come from outside China as it expands its manufacturing footprint globally. fortune.com
It turns out that the potential success of China’s EV expansion is mostly about chips. cnbc.com
Must Know Musk News
SpaceX will bring home two stranded astronauts from the International Space Station. theatlantic.com
Tesla rewrites their digital history. Deleting previous blog posts and company plans from their website. techcrunch.com
Elon can’t get full-self-driving to work in his own tunnels. arstechnica.com
Elon tells Twitter (X) staff that they can have their stock if they can prove they deserve it. theverge.com
Twitter (X) is trying to fix its election misinformation chatbot problem. businessinsider.com
Brazil blocked Twitter (X) on both the web and mobile app after Elon refused to name a legal representative to the country. apnews.com
Mark Cuban asks Elon to openly post Twitter’s (X’s) source code. You know, cause free speech. businessinsider.com
Rise Of The Machines
China is at the forefront of humanoid robotics development and is home to the largest installed base of industrial robots. reuters.com
Boston Dynamics’ Atlas robot shows off how many push-up reps it can do. techcrunch.com
Energy
SSE Viking Wind Farm
Shetland Isle’s 103 turbines, 443-megawatt wind farm, can power nearly 500,000 homes. bbc.com, sserenewables.com
Chinese state-backed oil company Sinochem plans to sell its 40% stake in its joint venture with Exxon Mobil. reuters.com
General Motors delays investment worth $330 million in Lithium Americas. reuters.com
BC Hydro is filling the reservoir created for their massive Site C dam project. It will take four months to fill the 83-kilometre-long reservoir. The project has taken nearly a decade to complete, cost over $16 Billion, and is one of the largest infrastructure projects in Canadian history. Critics fear that local wildlife is at risk as water floods the area. globalnews.ca, cbc.ca, sitecproject.com
The Churchill Observatory in northern Manitoba opened this week and plans to simulate the impact of oil spills, study climate change, and give the province an actual marine research lab. theglobeandmail.com
AI has uncovered that we could lower carbon emissions if we just drove slower. newscientist.com
But Wait, There’s More
Hyundai N Vision 74
Hyundai plans to launch 21 electric vehicles by 2030, offer more hybrid options and bring the super sexy N Vision 74 to production. theverge.com
GM EV van division Brightdrop will be dropped into Chevrolet. cnbc.com
GM has a transmission problem. reuters.com
Toyota has a tow hitch problem. autonews.com
Ford has an o-ring problem. carscoops.com
The UAW is angry at Stellantis CEO Carlos Tavares. teslarati.com
Stellantis sued in the Netherlands over emissions. reuters.com
Frank B. Rhodes wants to make Chrysler great again. carscoops.com, qz.com
“This” is Doug DeMuro’s list of the car brands he believes are headed for failure. slashgear.com
ICYMI
Google is working on an AI model that renders video games with high-quality graphics and interactivity. venturebeat.com
Dolly Parton likes to give away books. ctvnews.ca
Tow truck gangs are making Toronto less safe. wsj.com
Kick Out The Jams
A$AP Rocky dropped a Taylor Swift-inspired song video. The track first surfaced as a leak after a live performance in 2022. youtube.com, usmagazine.com
Miley Cyrus and Metallica perform “Nothing Else Matters” on the Howard Stern show. And it’s epic. youtube.com
Adam Calhoun can’t look at his own face. youtube.com
Jae Stephens wants you to do your body a favour. youtube.com
The band Descartes a Kant is basically the illegitimate love child of Devo and Veruca Salt. youtube.com
Actor, Comedian Riki Lindhome’s (of Garfunkel and Oates fame) recent songs “Middle Aged Love” and “Don’t Google Mommy” are fucking hilarious and a little NSFW.
Have a fucking awesome weekend.