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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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.