Who wants a $25,000 back-to-basics pickup truck? The question is really who doesn’t want one. Even before Slate Auto officially announced its presence and showed off a design prototype for a then-$20,000 pickup truck with financial backing from Jeff Bezos, interest and demand were sky-high. After it was revealed, even more so.
Even when the federal tax credit was killed, taking the $20k pickup truck dream with it, the Slate Truck somehow still commanded attention. The full pricing has now been announced, and we’ve even ridden in functional trucks to establish they’re the real deal, but while US orders are flooding in, Slate has delivered some bad news for would-be buyers in Canada.
Base Trim Engine
Electric
Base Trim Transmission
Single-speed Automatic
Base Trim Drivetrain
Rear-Wheel Drive
Base Trim Horsepower
181 hp
Base Trim Torque
195 lb-ft
Make
Slate Auto
Segment
Compact Pickup Truck
Can You Buy A Slate Truck In Canada?
A number of Canadian buyers had paid the original reservation fee when the Slate Truck was first shown, but they’ve been left disappointed at the news that they won’t be able to convert that into an actual order. That’s because Slate Auto has no intention of selling the truck in Canada. “We do not have plans to sell vehicles in Canada,” aSlate spokesperson told Automotive News refusing to elaborate further.
However, the publication offered some insight into why the decision might have been taken, and as you might have guessed, it’s a political minefield at the heart of it all.
Slate TruckIan Wright/CarBuzz/Valnet
How Politics Killed Canada’s Chances Of Buying A Slate Truck
By now, most Americans will have heard of the Chicken Tax, a decades-old tax that punishes trucks manufactured abroad and sold in the US. It’s why we don’t get trucks like the Mitsubishi L200 and why we never got the Mercedes X-Class. Instead, trucks made for America are made in America to avoid such taxation, which has spurred North American truck production in a big way.
But following last year’s tariff war incited by President Donald Trump, the concept of “made in America” has been muddied, as vehicles were tariffed based on a percentage of parts and components made in America.
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Frankly, it’s been a nightmare that the end user has had to pay for, and it’s the reason the Slate Truck wouldn’t work in Canada. Following a 25% tariff on Canadian-made vehicles issued April last year, Canadian officials reciprocated with an equal tariff on American-made ones. As Slate Trucks will be exclusively assembled in Indiana, they’d be slapped with that tariff, and factoring in both that and the exchange rate, a US$24,950 Slate Truck would sell for roughly CA$44,300.
Slate TruckIan Wright/CarBuzz/Valnet
For reference, the Ford Maverick starts at CA$38,195 while the Ranger is priced from CA$46,065, and the Slate being priced closer to the Ranger than the Maverick would be a deal-breaker, especially for a truck with wind-up windows and almost no features.
Will It Ever Change?
With political tensions on a knife-edge, there’s no way to say for certain. As of July 1, renegotiation of the USMCA (US, Mexico Canada Agreement) had begun, with President Trump rejecting a renewal on the current grounds. He’s pushing for greater US production or percentage thereof, despite automakers having spent enormous amounts of money on factories in Canada and Mexico that complied with the previous agreement.
Slate TruckSlate
CarBuzz Insights — Why It Matters
For American buyers, Slate availability in Canada isn’t a big deal — the truck should be more freely available in the US if supply for other markets isn’t a factor. But the possible rationale behind why it isn’t being sold in Canada highlights the volatility of the North American automotive industry as a whole. Buyers are clamoring for more affordable vehicles amid ever-surging average new-car prices, while the actions of wealthy politicians are hampering progress towards affordable transport.
Source: Automotive News
