The head of Canada’s automotive parts industry is warning against dropping tariffs on Chinese electric vehicles, saying the move would jeopardize the country’s EV sector and send the wrong message during an ongoing trade dispute with Beijing.

“I am reminding (the premiers) publicly, that if Canada is in a trade war with a country, then the response has to be a Canadian response,” Flavio Volpe said in an interview with CTV News Channel on Sunday, referring to premiers Wab Kinew of Manitoba and Scott Moe of Saskatchewan.

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“These Chinese EVs are not made for profit, they are subsidized,” the president of the Automotive Parts Manufacturers’ Association said, arguing that the vehicles are “dumped around the world” to flood markets and suppress local competition.

“This is a national play,” he added. “We’re in the middle of a game, and the only thing that changed ... was the Chinese ambassador said, ‘If you do this, we’ll give you that.’ And last time I checked, the Chinese ambassador was sent from Beijing, not from Ottawa.”

Volpe also criticized Moe and Kinew for, in his view, echoing Beijing’s position.

“They took cues from the Chinese ambassador,” he said. “We don’t take our cues from somebody else. We work for Team Canada. I expect better leadership from two thoughtful premiers.”

Volpe said he has personally negotiated with Chinese automakers in the past, encouraging them to build in Canada. But that dialogue collapsed after China arrested Michael Spavor and Michael Kovrig in 2018.

“They pulled out when we pushed back,” he said, referencing the diplomatic freeze that followed the “Two Michaels” incident.

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[–] avidamoeba@lemmy.ca 5 points 1 week ago* (last edited 1 week ago) (1 children)

They kinda tried. The F-150 Lightning starts at $62K. The Mach-e is a somewhat more legitimate attempt but that's also very expensive. The larger problem here is that Ford and not only, gradually removed smaller and cheaper models from their lineups, EV or otherwise. That's a conscious strategy to grow profit. Larger vehicles cost marginally more to make but command significantly higher prices. So when they introduced their EV models, there was no attempt to create a reasonably priced vehicle. The opposite. With all that said, the F-150 Lightning is still the top selling EV truck but the volumes are low. The average Canadian doesn't need that. We need smaller, cheaper EVs. Like the Renault 5 EV. Or like some of what PRC is building.

That's not to say I disagree with your assessment of pickup drivers. I'm just no longer considering what people care about. Instead I'm thinking about what they are likely to do based on the material reality they face. E.g. what the likely purchase decision of a person would be when faced with a 30K EV and a 50K EV of a relatively similar size and range. Can't rely on people's beliefs about the environment to transition to EVs.

[–] kent_eh@lemmy.ca 2 points 1 week ago (1 children)

So when they introduced their EV models, there was no attempt to create a reasonably priced vehicle

Exactly.

That is the reason why I am currently driving the only non-ford I've ever owned (after owning 6 small 4 cylinder Fords)

If they had built an EV version of one of those smaller cars (Escort/Fiesta/Focus, etc) I would not currently be driving a Corolla.

And now that I have the Toyota, i will say it's a very good car and I don't regret this purchase. But Ford could have got my money if they didn't decide to ignore my market segment.

[–] avidamoeba@lemmy.ca 2 points 1 week ago

A competent Focus EV would be a dream.