Canadians ready for Chinese-made autos, but experts say there are safety risks

Just weeks after Ottawa announced plans to allow a limited number of Chinese-made vehicles onto the Canadian market, some are warning that the move puts data privacy at risk. But this may not be a significant change for consumers who are in the market for a new car.

While hanging out at the Canadian International Auto Show on Friday, Dianne Dougall and Pat Shepherd — who were looking for a new EV to replace their Tesla — said a Chinese-made EV would “absolutely” interest them.

He said privacy would be no more of a concern than any other connected vehicle.

“It’s true that all of our data is stored in multiple countries,” Sheppard said. “And especially with the United States; that should also be a concern. So is it more worrisome? No.”

“I would definitely look into them,” said Debbie Parisioli from Waterdown, Ontario, who was also at the auto show and said her vehicle lease is expiring soon. He described privacy as “a thing of the past” and said it would not stop them from buying Chinese-made vehicles.

Some early data reflects that sentiment. 61 per cent of Canadians surveyed by Leger between January 30 and February 2 were in favor of Chinese EVs entering the Canadian market. When asked if they had any concerns, a greater number of respondents cited vehicle quality and the impact on the Canadian auto industry (both 38 per cent) – ahead of those who cited privacy and security (33 per cent).

Experts who spoke to CBC News for this story agreed that data security is a major issue for most modern, digitally connected vehicles – no matter where they are manufactured – but noted that Canada’s privacy laws are not strong enough to protect consumers from having their data obtained by the manufacturing country, including China.

‘Computer on wheels’

“All vehicles now are basically computers on wheels,” said David Mason, vice president and field chief information security officer at AI and cybersecurity company Darktrace. “It doesn’t matter where the vehicle comes from, or whether it’s electric or runs on gasoline or diesel or the breath of angels.”

Over the past decade, China has passed a series of national security and intelligence laws that oblige Chinese companies to cooperate with the government when asked. A similar law in the US, called the Cloud Act, forces US technology companies to share data collected abroad with the government when asked.

and this List of data collected by modern vehicles The long is: your voice, your location, how fast you’re driving, what kind of music you listen to, what your surroundings are like, whether you’re sleeping while driving – not to mention all the data accessible via a smartphone plugged into the vehicle.

Pierre Poilievre and Doug Ford have similarly criticized the deal with China, with the Conservative leader calling EVs “roving surveillance systems” and the Ontario Premier denouncing them as “spy cars.”

Automotive industry leaders are also worried. “Allowing Chinese vehicles into the Canadian market is a bad idea,” said Brian Kingston, chief executive of the Canadian Automobile Manufacturers Association, during a news conference at the auto show.

In addition to being a ‘trade bottleneck’ that will hinder the success of domestically produced autos, there are “a number of safety and national security issues” with Chinese autos, Kingston said. “If a social media platform is considered a threat to Canadians, I find it surprising that a connected vehicle is now even allowed in.”

There is no strong system

Ottawa once shared the same concerns about privacy. In June 2024, former Deputy Prime Minister Chrystia Freeland said cybersecurity was a main concern as the government imposed 100 percent tariffs on Chinese EVs to prevent a flood of cheaper models into the market.

Now, the federal government says vehicles must meet Canadian safety standards to be sold here.

During a recent parliamentary committee hearing, Public Safety Minister Gary Anandsangari said Ottawa would ensure “security measures” are taken to prevent vehicles from sending information back to China.

“You have to create policies about where the data goes, what type of data is collected, who has access to that data, what their use is, and then you have to actually penalize the misuse of that data,” said Beth-Anne Schuelke-Leach, an associate professor at the University of Windsor and policy director at the school’s Shield Center for Automotive Cybersecurity.

“Most consumers don’t care about their privacy. So they rely on rules and policies to protect themselves,” he said. “We don’t have a robust system in place for that kind of protection.”

So far, BYD appears to be the only major Chinese automaker formally registered to import passenger cars into Canada, according to A Transport Canada database. It is unclear whether this is a new development, as the company opened a bus assembly plant in Newmarket, Ontario in 2019.

Analyst says China doesn’t need autos for spying

The Canadian government has investigated other Chinese companies, namely ByteDance’s TikTok and telecommunications giant Huawei, over national security concerns. Huawei was banned from Canada’s 5G networks in 2022, and the Trudeau government ordered TikTok Canada to cease its business operations (the order was overturned by a federal court).

The idea that allowing Chinese-made vehicles into Canada is a new breach of data security is “probably false,” said Stephanie Carwin, a national security analyst and associate professor at Carleton University’s Norman Paterson School of International Affairs.

“They’re spying on us right now. They have everything they need,” he said, adding that the bigger concerns are about economic national security and the impact the entry of the cars will have on Canada’s domestic automobile market.

“We know that companies like BYD get a huge amount of support from the Chinese state in terms of loans, funding support, weak labor laws,” Carwin said.

“Canadian manufacturers cannot compete with a car company where a certain percentage of each car is effectively subsidized by the state.”