BYD is not for sale in Canada yet

BYD Canada Company Limited runs byd.com/en-ca and a French version, from 60 Travail Road in Markham, Ontario. The terms, updated 3 August 2026, say the site does not permit purchases, leases, financing applications, reservations, pre-orders, or deposits. Page content is not an offer to sell a vehicle.

The same terms say a model shown on the site may not be offered in Canada. The safety section names global crash-test cars, including the Seal, Dolphin, Atto 3, and Sealion 7, in European or Australian versions. That is not a Canadian lineup. CAA's availability list, checked 30 September 2026, does not include BYD.

Sheets titled like "2026 BYD models available for Canada" are circulating with dollar figures. Driving.ca looked at one that put a Dolphin at an estimated landed price of $17,600 and said the graphic is not a real BYD price. We are not repeating those numbers as stickers. BYD has not published a Canadian MSRP.

Reporting, including Driving.ca citing the Globe and Mail, says a Markham consultancy is helping BYD look for stores, with talk of about 20 sites starting in the Toronto area. That is dealer scouting. It is not an on-sale date, and it is not a price.

Since 1 March 2026, electric vehicles that originate in China can come in under a quota instead of the old 100% surtax. Global Affairs Canada's notice of 29 August 2026 sets the duty inside that quota at the 6.1% most-favoured-nation rate. A shipment-specific permit is required, including for test cars. The quota year runs 1 March to 28 February.

The first-year volume in the Canada-China arrangement is 49,000 vehicles. From 1 September 2026 to 28 February 2027 the available quantity is 24,500 plus whatever went unused from 1 March to 31 August 2026. Permits are still first-come, first-served. Only a Canadian-resident EV manufacturer, or an agent it appoints, can hold the permit.

A slice of the quota is reserved for vehicles with a free-on-board price of $35,000 or less. That share starts at 10% in year 2 and rises to 50% in year 5. Free on board is the import price, not the price on a window sticker, and it is not in force for this first quota year.

A China-built car also fails the federal EVAP test. Transport Canada requires manufacture in Canada or a country with a free-trade agreement. The Model 3 already misses EVAP for that reason. A future BYD would miss it the same way, even under $50,000.

These were on CAA's for-sale table and missing from the calculator. Each row is one checked trim: Canadian MSRP, battery, and official range. Prices below are MSRP, before freight, tax, and fees. Open a name for the full card.

The Trailseeker Touring and the Countryman Elementary Edition are under the $50,000 EVAP line. Subaru says the Trailseeker's 446 km figure is still preliminary. The other eight sit over the federal price cap.

Pickups, vans, and the expensive luxury EVs stay out: Ford F-150 Lightning, Chevrolet Silverado EV, GMC Sierra EV and Hummer EV, Rivian, Tesla Model S, Model X, and Cybertruck, Porsche, Lucid, Mercedes-EQ, Cadillac Lyriq and larger, and BMW iX, i5, and i7. The list is for a first EV comparison, not every car sold in Canada.

BYD joins that list only when a Canadian dealer can sell a named trim at a published MSRP, with a battery size and an official range we can cite.

• EV registration fees in CanadaNova Scotia adds $500 every two years for an EV on 1 Oct 2026, about $250 a year. Alberta is $200, Saskatchewan $300, and Quebec adds $125 on 1 Jan 2027.