Canadian Finishing & Coatings Manufacturing September/October Issue - 23

PAINT AND COATINGS MANUFACTURING: EV COVER STORY
ELEC TRIC AVENUE
With the reality of electric and zero emission vehicles changing the gears of the
automotive sector, opportunities abound for coatings and finishing manufacturers
BY NOELLE STAPINSKY
S
uffice it to say the automotive industry is going
through the biggest technological revolution since it
started. Battery electric vehicles (BEVs) and plug-in
hybrid electric vehicles (PHEVs) have been lingering
in industry for years now, but in the last two years, the shift has
accelerated significantly. Global sales are hitting new records and
a KPMG survey revealed that 71 per cent of Canadians planning
on buying a new vehicle are considering an electric vehicle (EV).
In 2020, the auto industry's Big Three-General Motors (GM),
Fiat Chrysler Automobiles (FCA) and Ford-all announced
significant investment and aggressive strategies towards
producing BEVs, and just this past year there has been major
investment by companies such as Stellantis, LG and Umicore to
build EV battery plants in Ontario with support of both the federal
and provincial governments. Although, the true tipping point for
the auto sector was when the federal government changed its
voluntary target for achieving 100 per cent zero emission new car
and light duty truck sales to a mandatory target and moved the
deadline up by five years to 2035 from 2040.
Does this mean saying goodbye to our trusted internal
combustion engine (ICE)? Not necessarily for some time, but
it will mean that by 2035 new light duty passenger vehicles will
all be powered by electric technology, and that's only two model
years away. From a manufacturing perspective, Peter Hatges,
national sector leader, automotive, KPMG in Canada, says,
" Canada is really well positioned for assembly and manufacturing
because it has a big legacy infrastructure with good knowledge,
and there certainly has been investments by each of the major
manufacturers. "
" They will expand and modify their facilities in Canada to
accommodate and adapt to changing the powertrains to electric, "
says Hatges. " That will bode well for certain aspects of the
industry, but there is no doubt that for some others in the industry
[ICE components] it's not going to be a question of adaptation, but
one of elimination. EVs aren't going to have a transmission, they
won't need oil or pistons or have air filters. Our industry has made
a lot of body parts, panels and structural components, which
will remain and become modified. For those making drivetrain
components, they will be impacted as the number of components
required for ICEs will be eliminated or significantly reduced. But
let's be realistic, we aren't converting to complete electric vehicle
manufacturing for some time, it could take 10 years. "
While this shift to EV technology will be a permanent one,
which will certainly be limited in terms of the breadth of different
components compared to ICEs, there will be new opportunities
in structural aspects, connectivity, and how the power is managed
September/October 2022
23
Canadian Finishing & Coatings Manufacturing September/October Issue

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