Cult-favourite maker of lightweight performance cars expects to have vehicles in showrooms Q3 of this year

By Gazette Staff

March 16^th, 2026

BURLINGTON, ON

Chinese EV’s are coming to Canada.

The federal government has a deal with the Chinese government that permits China to sell 49,000 EV’s in Canada each year.

News earlier today has Lotus, the British sports car brand that currently sells just one model at low volume in Canada, is aiming to be among the first companies to sell Chinese-made electric vehicles in this country under the federal government’s new import quota system.

Lotus Eletre, a battery-powered “Hyper SUV” made in Wuhan, China. It is already listed on dealer websites and is expected to land in Canadian showrooms in the third quarter of 2026

The brand, known as a cult-favourite maker of lightweight performance cars, is now under the umbrella of Chinese giant Geely, which also owns Volvo and Polestar.

The car it is hoping to start shipping to Canada is the Lotus Eletre, a battery-powered “Hyper SUV” made in Wuhan, China. It is already listed on dealer websites and is expected to land in Canadian showrooms in the third quarter of 2026, according to Massimiliano Trantini, president and chief executive officer of Lotus Cars Americas.

“Our Eletre is already homologated [meets road worthiness standards] for Canada and we will be hosting our official launch event very soon,” Mr. Trantini said in an e-mail to The Globe and Mail.

The price will likely be well into six-figure territory. The vehicle will have a cabin lined with leather from Scottish tannery Bridge of Weir, and up to 905 horsepower. The Lotus Eletre is not – to state the obvious – one of the affordable new Chinese EVs many Canadians were hoping to see after the federal government announced lower tariffs and a new quota system.

Part of the rationale for slashing tariffs was that it would boost the availability of affordable EVs. By 2030, the government says, about 70,000 Chinese-made EVs will be imported under the new quota system and half will need to have an import price of $35,000 or less.

Unlike other cars the brand makes, the Lotus Eletre all-electric SUV is neither lightweight nor low-power.

The company has six dealers across Canada, with plans to add more. “Our plan is to grow the dealer network in line with demand, which we expect to increase rapidly following our market entry,” Mr. Trantini added.

The Eletre may be a tough sell in Canada. Sales of EVs dropped significantly last year and there are already a wide range of high-priced luxury electric SUVs on offer from other brands including the likes of BMW, Mercedes-Benz, Audi, Rivian, Tesla, Volvo, Porsche and Cadillac.