Automotive News Canada - February 2017 - 18

* FEBRUARY 2017

Alberta's industry watchdog
preps for major overhaul
Minister deems that
AMVIC's execution
has been lacking
By HARRY PEGG
CALGARY CORRESPONDENT

EDMONTON - Beset by criticism from consumers and
industry and publicly tagged
as a caustic work environment,
Alberta's vehicle industry
watchdog, the Alberta Motor
Vehicle Industry Council
(AMVIC), will get a major overhaul.
The shake-up is in response
to a government-ordered
review as the Alberta NDP
intends to take a firmer grip on
the arms-length agency.
AMVIC regulates all facets
of the province's auto industry - new- and used-vehicle
sales, repairs, towing, windshield replacement, detailers -
and anything that requires an
automotive licence, including
heavy trucks and the training
and licensing of sales staff.
After hundreds of complaints, Service Alberta
Minister Stephanie McLean
named George Cuff, a consultant specializing in board and
council governance, to review
AMVIC. She said the idea of
AMVIC is "excellent" but execution has been lacking.
McLean said the long list of
complaints includes low public confidence, high levels of
staff turnover, concerns over

AMVIC FACTS
MANDATE: Provide consumer
protection in Alberta's motor
vehicle Industry through
mandatory licensing for motor
vehicle businesses and sales
staff as required by the Fair
Trading Act of Alberta
Numbers for the first half of
2016-17 fiscal year
(April 1 to Sept. 3)
1,231: Complaints about an
automotive business in Alberta
603: Complaint files opened
13: Peace officers
investigating files
241: Licensee inspections
609: Investigation files closed
38: Charges laid against 11
businesses/individuals
6: Administrative penalties
totalling $25,500 (fine paid
to the Crown)
6,765: AMVIC-licensed
automotive businesses as of
on Oct. 7, 2016.

the actions of former administrators and questions about
whether AMVIC acts in the
best interest of consumers.
Some reports claim AMVIC
was "sitting on" a $4 million
compensation fund that should
have been paid out to consumers; in 2016, it paid out only
$2,000.
Legislation governing
AMVIC requires compensation be made by licensed busi-

nesses. The fund is a last-resort
measure tapped only when a
licensee is unable to pay, for
whatever reason.
Cuff's 225-page report makes
23 recommendations, including
redefining the role of CEO and
creating a new registrar position to oversee industry legislation, registration, complaints
and compensation.
It said the AMVIC board
should include equal input
from public and industry with
the chair appointed by government. At the same time,
new legislation would give the
minister of Service Alberta
power to issue orders related
to reviews of AMVIC conduct,
to dismiss board members or
employees and to appoint a representative to oversee management of the compensation fund.
Operating under the Fair
Trading Act and Traffic Safety
Act, investigators are designated peace officers with powers
to enter a business for inspection or during an investigation (with permission of the
business), copy records or documents, issue tickets under
the Traffic Safety Act and lay
charges under the Fair Trading
Act and even the Criminal
Code.
McLean, who has accepted Cuff's recommendations
entirely, describes the shakeup as "complex", with some
items requiring legislation
changes, but says she's confident AMVIC will restore public
faith in the industry. - ANC

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January sales spike
despite predictions
of a flat-lining 2017
Surprise
2.3-per-cent overall
growth shared
almost equally
between Detroit
Three, all others
By JEREMY SINEK
TORONTO CORRESPONDENT

( P H O T O : M A S E R AT I )

CANADA'S AUTO MARKET
eased into 2017 with a 2.3-percent gain in January compared with the same month
in 2016. And it did so with the
same number of selling days.
The total of 110,945 sales,
not including low-volume
brands, was another January
record. It was also an encouraging start, considering that
most pundits expect a modest
cooling in calendar 2017 following record sales in 2016.
The bounty was shared
quite evenly, with Ford,
General Motors and Fiat
Chrysler claiming a 2.4-percent gain, and members of
the Global Automakers of
Canada growing 2.2 per cent.
More marked was the passenger-car-versus-light-truck
divide. Sales of cars declined
5.3 per cent while utility
vehicles, pickups and vans
advanced 5.8 per cent. That
gave light trucks a 70.8 per
cent share of total sales for
the month.
Each of the Detroit-based
automakers gained ground
in January, led by Ford with
a 3.5-per cent up-tick. Even
so, FCA Canada retained
market leadership for the
month over Ford (which had
been the top-selling company for full-year 2016). The
Jeep brand did the heavy
lifting for FCA, though surprise sales surges were also
posted by the Chrysler 200
and 300, the Dodge Dart and
Challenger, and almost the
entire Fiat lineup.

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Maserati sold 101 Levante
utility vehiles in January,
which was five times that
of everything else it sold.

Ford continued to ride on
the sturdy aluminum back
of its F series. The pickup grew its sales five per
cent for a January record;
it also accounted for more
than 50 per cent of total
Ford and Lincoln sales,
combined. That despite the
Lincoln brand having its best
January since 1989.
Results were more mixed
among the offshore-based
automakers, with Hyundai/
Kia backsliding by a combined 8.5 per cent while the
Europeans jointly surged
9.1 per cent; the Japanese
brands including Honda and
Toyota matched the market
at plus 2.3 per cent.
It was a bounteous month
for European luxury automakers with gains rang-

ing from Volvo's one per
cent through Jaguar's 254
per cent to Maserati's 542
per cent. The game-changer for Maserati was its
new Levante utility vehicle. The 101 sold represented five times the three car
nameplates combined. Then
there's Bentley. It sold one
car in January (the same as
last year) and 10 copies of the
new Bentayga utility vehicle.

TRUCKS, LUXURY IN DEMAND
On a broader scale, the
parallel trends toward trucks
and luxury brands were
well-illustrated by Toyota
Canada's report of 14-percent growth in Lexus utility
sales.
Aside from the Koreabased makes, the only losing automakers were Nissan
Canada and Mitsubishi.
The list of top-selling
nameplates featured quite a
dogfight among compact utilities, with the Honda CR-V,
Nissan Rogue, Toyota RAV4
and Jeep Cherokee, in that
order, placing fifth through
eighth. Significantly, the
Ford Escape, which used
to dominate the segment,
dropped out of the Top 10
altogether in January.
True to form, the Ford F
series and Honda Civic both
comfortably topped lighttruck and passenger-car sales
respectively.
Chevrolet reported six
sales of the Bolt EV after
deliveries began in late
January. - ANC

MOVERS
& SHAKERS

(Compared to same
month a year ago)
* Maserati: +542%
* Mazda Miata: +413%
* Fiat 500X: +348%
* Dodge Challenger: +198%
* Honda Fit: -77.3%
* Cadillac ATS: -61.8%
* Smart: -36%
* Infiniti: -12.9%

FULL OF SURPRISES
* Chrysler/Dodge cars +71%
* European brands: +9.1%
* Light trucks have a 70.8%
share of total sales
for the month

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Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Automotive News Canada - February 2017