A new Electric Mobility Canada report sorts through the noise to find out how and if EV shoppers will be affected by tariffs

In a seemingly daily deluge of bad news stories, a new report from Electric Mobility Canada is offering a bright spot for EV buyers.

How, when and what passenger electric vehicles will be impacted by U.S.-Canada tariffs are the questions prospective EV buyers are asking all the time now. The short answer, says Electric Mobility Canada is: largely, EVs (battery-electric and plug-in hybrid) won’t be affected at all.

The national member-based organization has found that 93 per cent of EVs sold in Canada by mixed-powertrain OEMs are not subject to tariffs stemming from the trade war between Canada and the U.S.

This figure does not include American all-electric OEMs Tesla, Rivian and Lucid.

“After thorough research, Electric Mobility Canada (EMC) has found that most EV models offered in Canada will not be affected by Canada’s 21.25 per cent automotive counter-tariffs for the simple reason that most EVs offered in Canada do not come from the U.S.,” reads the report.

“In light of [this], Electric Mobility Canada urges the Government of Canada to maintain its EV Availability Standard, as it will ensure that Canadians continue to have access to a growing number of BEVs and PHEVs and that more affordable EV models will be sent to our country moving forward.”

Where do EVs in Canada come from?

The EMC report examines the countries of origin for 33 automotive brands that, collectively, have made 89 models of EVs available to buy in Canada.

Eighteen mixed-powertrain global automaker brands account for 59 of those models. (These are the automakers that manufacture combustion vehicles and/or EVs outside of Canada and the U.S. and/or are not part of the “Group of Five” automakers that operate assembly plants in Canada.)

Of this subset, just six models are subject to tariffs: the BMW X5 PHEV, Mercedes EQE and EQS SUVs, the Polestar 3, the Volkswagen ID.4 and Volvo EX90.

Meanwhile the 30 models of EVs manufactured by the “Group of Five” — Ford, Stellantis, General Motors, Honda and Toyota (which represent 17 brands overall) — have a remission from tariffs to import “a certain number of U.S.-assembled, CUSMA-compliant vehicles into Canada” with no tariffs, as long as they continue to manufacture EVs in Canada and complete planned investments.

In all, just under seven per cent of all EV brands sold in Canada, which comprised less than five per cent of all EV sales in Canada last year, will be subject to tariffs.

Tariffs on American all-electric OEMs

While the outlook for many EV-making OEMs is looking positive, there are three notable and popular EVs brands that are not so lucky.

Tesla, Rivian and Lucid are electric powertrain-only, American light-duty vehicle brands; each will bear the full weight of U.S.-Canada tariffs.

Every model from each of these brands sold in Canada is now subject to the 21.25 per cent reciprocal tariff. But, notes the EMC report, “Despite being the most affected by these counter-tariffs, they continue to support Canada’s EV Availability Standard.”

This position, says EMC, should be interpreted alongside the fact that each of these OEMs surpassed Canada’s 2026-2035 ZEV sales targets (meaning the EV Availability Standard did not adversely impact their supply).

The fact remains that all-electric American automakers are disproportionally affected by this situation.

EMC concludes its report by recommending the government maintain the EV Availability Standard, reinstate EV rebates and reach policy and trade agreements that exempt all EV OEMs from tariffs and counter-tariffs as soon as possible.