Early signs that electric vehicle prices are set to fall in Canada are starting to show less than a week after Prime Minister Mark Carney announced a major policy change on Chinese-made EVs.

The country will permit up to 49,000 Chinese EVs to be imported annually without Canada’s 100 per cent tariff rate on them. They’ll instead arrive on our shores with a rate of 6.1 per cent, which is Canada’s most-favoured-nation (MFN) rate on imports from countries we have trade agreements with.

Lotus, which is owned by China’s Geely, announced it could slash the price of the Lotus Eletre electric SUV.

A social media post by the company (in China) suggests the Eletre’s price could be lowered by as much as 50 per cent. I can’t read the post, but multiple automotive media have written about it, including the folks at Carscoops.

The Lotus Eletre is currently available in just one trim in Canada, Eletre Carbon, which is the highest performance version in the Eletre model range.

Its price starts at $313,500.

If the company truly does cut the price by half, that’s a reduction of more than $150,000.

Keep in mind, that reduction might not be on the Carbon version, but Canada could potentially get a less expensive trim level of the SUV.

About the Lotus Eletre Carbon

The Eletre, in Carbon form, is an all-electric SUV with a 111.9-kWh lithium-ion battery powering a full-time all-wheel-drive electric powertrain with 905 hp and 727 lb.-ft. of torque.

Zero to 100 km/h arrives in 2.95 seconds and SUV’s top speed is 265 km/h.

Full model details are available on the Lotus Cars website.

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