One of the biggest reasons people can't stop talking about Slate's tiny electric pickup is its price. At under $25,000, it's a bargain. However, it turns out that this bargain will be reserved for the US market for now. According to Automotive News, Slate has no plans to sell its affordable electric pickup in Canada.
A Slate spokesperson stated, "We do not have plans to sell vehicles in Canada." The company did not elaborate on why it didn't plan to expand its offering north of the border. When looking at the price tag and Slate's pitch for value, the math shows where things might be falling apart.
View Price on AmazonSlate's pickup starts at a pretty respectable $24,950 in the US. It's one of the few new vehicles that feels like it could be affordable to the average American. This is because Slate built the truck's identity entirely around being the anti-truck truck, with no giant touch screens, no powered everything, and no leather-covered seats that massage you on that semiannual trip to the hardware store. It's just a bare-bones, modular, electric truck on the cheap.
However, that falls apart when tariffs come into play. Canada's 25% reciprocal tariff on vehicles imported from the US would mean that Slate's cheap electric pickup instantly shoots up to at least $31,100 once it crosses the border. With exchange rates, that puts it at around $44,500 CAD. For comparison, the Ford Maverick starts at around $38,095 CAD. Stepping up to the Ranger will cost $46,065, or pivoting to the Chevy Colorado costs $43,043 CAD. While Slate didn't say that tariffs were the reason for not setting up shop in Canada, they clearly don't help.
Midsize pickup sales jumped 30% in Canada last year, outpacing the industry as a whole by about 13 times. Canadian EV sales are also up 75% year-over-year. This means Slate's tiny electric pickup could have been a hit if it were available even remotely close to the price it plans to offer for the US market. But for now, would-be Canadian buyers will simply see Slate's affordable truck as a neat idea that's happening somewhere else.
Source: insideevs.com
