Science and Research Committee on April 23rd, 2026

[Dr. Ryan Ahmed]

The way you look at it right now, there is a softening market, especially for EVs. The first reason is that all of the early adopters of electric vehicles have pretty much saturated. Consumers are looking for affordable, next-generation electric vehicles. Of course, the federal incentives have disappeared as well, so that has also impacted the market.

My third recommendation, as I mentioned to the committee, is that if we enable those Chinese vehicles to be imported into and sold in the Canadian market, they should be associated with conditions when it comes to data privacy, data security and having a threshold on Canadian-engineered content in those vehicles. It's not just an open market specifically for Chinese vehicles without any conditions.

[Jagsharan Singh Mahal, Conservative, Edmonton Southeast, AB]

You mentioned in your opening statement, as well as in the previous answer, that the Canadian government is investing billions of dollars in a market that is softening.

How do you think importing Chinese EVs is going to impact that market, which is already softening?

[Dr. Ryan Ahmed]

It will definitely have an impact on the market.

From a technology standpoint—and I have seen this as well, working in the industry—Chinese EVs compete significantly when it comes to cost. They can offer a lot more features per dollar compared to North American vehicles. For example, the starting price point of a BYD Seagull electric vehicle with significantly more features compared to North American vehicles is at around $22,000. It will definitely have an impact.

Of course, having cheaper electric vehicles available in the market would be beneficial to consumers. We can't just open it up without any conditions on it. When it comes to owning Canadian IP and also having the universities involved, that will open up the market to us.

To answer your question, yes, it will definitely have an impact on the market.

[Jagsharan Singh Mahal, Conservative, Edmonton Southeast, AB]

Chinese EV firms benefit from significant Chinese Communist Party support and operate under a different economic model.

Can Canadian firms realistically compete on a level playing ground under those conditions, Dr. Ahmed?

[Dr. Ryan Ahmed]

That's a good question.

My recommendation is.... Having both the OEM and the supplier model, as we speak right now, is not efficient. For example, the life cycle for an electric vehicle made by an average North American company, like GM and Ford, is around five to six years, while for BYD, it's between 18 and 24 months. Having vertical integration based here within North American manufacturing will be required to be able to compete with Chinese vehicles at the moment.

It is doable, but it requires significant investments from OEMs, suppliers and, of course, the government as well.

[Jagsharan Singh Mahal, Conservative, Edmonton Southeast, AB]

There are credible concerns about forced labour in upstream supply chains, particularly involving Uyghur labour in China.

In your view, can a supply chain linked to those specifics be considered environmentally or ethically sustainable, given the standards we keep in Canada?

[Dr. Ryan Ahmed]

I can't have a full picture of what is happening on that side, when it comes to labour laws and so on. I prefer to stay within a technical discussion and provide my engineering expertise.

[Jagsharan Singh Mahal, Conservative, Edmonton Southeast, AB]

Okay.

If Canada prioritizes lower-cost imports in the short term, does it come at the expense of long-term supply chain resilience and sustainability?

Dr. Ahmed, give a quick answer.

[Dr. Ryan Ahmed]

I'm sorry. Can you repeat the question?

[Jagsharan Singh Mahal, Conservative, Edmonton Southeast, AB]

The time is up, I guess.

[The Chair, Liberal, Salma Zahid]

You might be able to come back to that in the second round.

We will now proceed with MP Deschênes-Thériault for six minutes.

Please go ahead.

[Guillaume Deschênes-Thériault, Liberal, Madawaska—Restigouche, NB]

Thank you, Madam Chair.

Mr. Mohamed, during your remarks, you mentioned research you are conducting on the factors that lead to the decision to purchase an electric vehicle. You mentioned a study and a database that includes more than 200 variables.

In your professional opinion, how might the agreement with China regarding the limited import of a quota of electric vehicles have a positive effect on some of the factors that influence the decision to purchase an electric vehicle?

[Dr. Moataz Mohamed]

Thank you for the question.

The most important aspect that motivates or triggers the market is the price at the point of purchase. Once you buy a vehicle the first time, you start developing so-called habitual behaviour. You immediately alleviate your range anxiety. You don't think about range anxiety. You don't think about buying a bigger battery. The purchase price is a critical point for people joining the EV market.

What we have observed from our studies.... In science, we've coined the term “willingness to” analysis. It's the willingness to evaluate in the era of incentives or in the era of fuel savings, especially when fuel prices spike, compared with electricity prices. We consistently found that every dollar reduction in the gap between battery electric vehicles and internal combustion engine vehicles is evaluated by users at $1.40. If you reduce the gap in price, they see added utility and receive more incentive to get into the electric vehicle market.

We have also seen this when people are considering the pre-owned electric vehicle market. The pre-owned electric vehicle market is also growing. However, we can echo most of the same conclusions we found regarding new vehicles when it comes to pre-owned vehicles.

If you are a first-time EV buyer, purchase price is the Achilles heel.

[Guillaume Deschênes-Thériault, Liberal, Madawaska—Restigouche, NB]

So I understand that importing more affordable Chinese vehicles could have a positive impact on the number of electric vehicles on our roads.

You also mentioned, in one of your research publications, the environmental effects of adopting electric vehicles, particularly in terms of having a highway system that would be more likely to help us achieve our climate goals.

Does that mean that the more electric vehicles we have on our roads, the more it contributes to achieving our climate goals?

[Dr. Moataz Mohamed]

Thank you for the question.

Let me start with the environmental gains, because I strongly believe.... Also, evidence from research points, very clearly, to the competitiveness of Canada when it comes to clean electricity production. I'm speaking about the national average. We have very superior provinces in Canada that produce pretty much near-zero greenhouse gas emissions for each kilowatt hour of electricity produced in the grid.

In a professional capacity, I can state that the environmental gains from electric vehicles in Canada would be significant compared with other places, including the United States. Increasing the market adoption of electric vehicles in Canada will substantially reduce the transportation sector's greenhouse gas emissions.

As for the second point in your question—

[Guillaume Deschênes-Thériault, Liberal, Madawaska—Restigouche, NB]

I'm sorry, but time is running out, and I'd like to ask you two more questions.

I represent a rural riding.

In your research, did you notice any notable differences between urban and rural areas based on the various variables you used?

If so, what would be the main challenges related to the adoption of electric vehicles in rural areas?

What could we do about this?

[Dr. Moataz Mohamed]

For rural versus urban, with urban there are fewer vehicle kilometres travelled on a daily basis. In rural, they drive more kilometres compared to urban settings. Infrastructure intensity, as it relates to access to charging points, is significantly important in rural areas, especially in rural areas in northern territories and relatively colder climates, as the battery range will be limited during cold weather.

[Guillaume Deschênes-Thériault, Liberal, Madawaska—Restigouche, NB]

Mr. Ahmed, you said that your third recommendation was to invest in research on electric vehicles.

In which priority sectors should this research be conducted?

[Dr. Ryan Ahmed]

There are a few areas. The first is when it comes to the entire powertrain integration. The battery pack, electric motors and DC-DC converters—all of these units are an integrated platform. This is where China has an edge, I would say, compared to North American manufacturers.

There is another area as well, which is the second life. After these electric vehicle batteries have aged, we need to take these battery packs and repurpose them. They still have enough life to be used for a stationary application. That's another key research area as well.

[The Chair, Liberal, Salma Zahid]

Thank you.

The time is up for MP Deschênes-Thériault. Now we will go to MP Blanchette-Joncas for six minutes.

Please go ahead.

[Maxime Blanchette-Joncas, Bloc, Rimouski—La Matapédia, QC]

Mr. Mohamed, electric vehicles collect sensitive data.

In your opinion, do users really have control over the data, or is it actually manufacturers?

[Dr. Moataz Mohamed]

I don't have the technical capacity to answer this question. I can answer from my own personal experience as a driver of an electric vehicle that there is an option to opt out of data sharing once you are operating it.

However, I don't know if this option is being honoured by the manufacturer or if the data has been collected regardless of my choice.

[Maxime Blanchette-Joncas, Bloc, Rimouski—La Matapédia, QC]

Price is a determining factor in the purchase of an electric vehicle. However, the federal government suspended its incentive program for the purchase of zero-emission vehicles in January 2025.

Ultimately, given the political pressure that was exerted, this program was reinstated in February 2026, but the financial assistance period will be temporary and regressive. The amounts granted will therefore be lower.

By doing so, aren't we sending the market a signal of medium-term instability, which would ensure that the very reason you mention is not taken into account?

[Dr. Moataz Mohamed]

I would agree that the change of the incentive package, the discontinuation of incentives and then reinstating the incentive brought some sensitivity and uncertainty into the market. I stress the importance of incentives because they offer an alternative pathway to reducing the cost of the vehicle significantly.

I think 2015 was the most generous incentive era, and we saw early adopters getting into EVs. However, what we are lacking here in incentives relates to pre-owned electric vehicle incentives and, in some provinces in Canada, restructuring incentives based on the price of the vehicle and the household income.

In short, incentives are one of the great tools to motivate electric vehicle adoption in any market.

[Maxime Blanchette-Joncas, Bloc, Rimouski—La Matapédia, QC]

I would like to hear your opinion, in particular, on Quebec's performance, as it accounts for 46% of the country's electric vehicle fleet. We have been pioneers, particularly when it comes to incentives for purchasing electric vehicles.

Do you think that, aside from the financial aspect, there might be other reasons why Quebec has so many more electric vehicles, given its demographic weight relative to the rest of Canada?