First BYD Sealion 7 Spied in Markham as Canadian Test Fleet Grows Beyond Its Import Clearance

A BYD Sealion 7 test vehicle has been photographed in a Markham, Ontario parking garage — the first local sighting of that model, according to images that surfaced on Chinese social media this week and circulated among Canadian EV watchers. The photo, shared via Reddit's r/EVCanada and published by GlobalChinaEV, shows the electric SUV's rear three-quarter view with its licence plate visible in an underground garage minutes from BYD's Canadian head office.

The sighting matters because of what the Sealion 7 is: an export-only model BYD already sells in Europe, Australia and New Zealand. It appeared just weeks after a Sealion 7 was seen parked alongside a Fangchengbao Ti7 at a Montreal hotel, and it joins a Sealion 6 spotted earlier with its badges taped over near the Markham head office.

Three test cars, zero overlap with the import clearance

The striking detail is that none of the three spotted vehicles line up with the models BYD has actually cleared to import. Transport Canada's Appendix G pre-clearance registry lists BYD for two plants: a Shenzhen facility covering the Dolphin, Seal, Atto 3 and Seagull, and a Xi'an facility. That approval predates a 2025 freeze on new passenger-vehicle applications, giving BYD a regulatory head start most other Chinese brands lack.

The Sealion 7, Sealion 6 and Ti7 sightings instead point to smaller-volume evaluation imports working through case-by-case approval, separate from that existing clearance. Testing all three at once suggests BYD has not settled on a final Canadian lineup — and that its eventual range here could look different from what it sells elsewhere. On the Reddit thread where the Markham photo circulated, Canadian shoppers speculated about the Atto 3, Dolphin and Seal, the models actually cleared for import that have not yet turned up in any spotting.

The quota backdrop

The regulatory door opened after Ottawa and Beijing struck a trade agreement disclosed in January 2026, replacing Canada's 100 percent surtax on Chinese-made EVs with a 6.1 percent tariff under an annual quota. The first year allows up to 49,000 electrified vehicles, split into two 24,500-vehicle windows running March–August 2026 and September 2026–February 2027, with permits issued first-come, first-served through Global Affairs Canada. Global Affairs Canada data shows importers used only 15,603 of the 24,500 first-window permits, with the 8,897 unused slots rolling into a second window now holding 33,397 total permits.

Eligibility extends beyond Chinese-badged brands to any automaker building electrified vehicles in China — Tesla, Polestar and Volvo included — and Tesla has already begun bringing Shanghai-built Model 3s in under the quota. Vehicles built in China are ineligible for the federal Electric Vehicle Affordability Program's $5,000 incentive, a gap that will weigh on how competitively BYD can price whatever it eventually sells here.

Distribution is further along than the lineup

• Dealerships: Farid Ahmad, CEO of Dealer Solutions Mergers & Acquisitions, the firm building BYD's Canadian retail footprint, has said the company is "in active talks with three separate locations," with Globe and Mail and Bloomberg reporting pointing to roughly 20 dealerships targeted in year one, starting in the Greater Toronto Area before Vancouver, Montreal and Calgary.
• Hiring: in August 2026, BYD's Canadian website added a "coming soon" banner and eleven job postings.
• No confirmed plans: BYD said in May 2026 that it "has not announced, approved, or confirmed any plans to launch passenger vehicles in Canada," after a fake account impersonating an executive floated fabricated launch details that one outlet republished and retracted.

The pattern matches how BYD entered Australia: selling from 2022 but adding models like the Dolphin roughly a year later, gradually rather than all at once. Whether the Sealion 7, Sealion 6 or Ti7 reach Canadian showrooms, or BYD leads with the already-cleared Atto 3, Dolphin and Seal, remains an open question only an official announcement will settle. What the Markham garage photo confirms is that the evaluation fleet is bigger — and more curious — than the paperwork suggests.

Looking for EV deals, insurance, or financing? Check out our partner deals and offers.

If you found this guide helpful, use our Tesla referral link for free Supercharging credits on a new Tesla purchase or lease in Canada.