Automotive News Canada - July 2017 - 3

Takata airbag
recall stalls
in Canada
16 per cent
of 5.2 million
affected
vehicles have
been repaired
By JOHN IRWIN
TORONTO BUREAU

TROUBLED JAPANbased airbag supplier Takata Corp. may
have filed for bankruptcy, but the effort
to repair the 5.2 million Canadian vehicles
recalled as a result of
its faulty airbags is far
from over.
According to
Transport Canada,
only about 851,000 of
all Canadian vehicles recalled as part
of the largest global
recall effort in automotive history have been
repaired as of June 27,
or only 16 per cent.
Takata filed for
bankruptcy in June
and agreed to sell "substantially all" of its
global assets and operations to U.S. supplier Key Safety Systems
for $2.06 billion (US
$1.59 billion). The bankruptcy filing comes
as the result of a massive recall scandal surrounding its ammonium nitrate airbag
inflators, which could
explode in certain
humid climates and are
linked to 16 deaths and
180 injuries globally.
Transport Canada
said it is unaware of
any incidents in the
country related to the
faulty airbags, and
therefore it is unaware
of any Canadian fatalities or injuries related
to them.

TA K ATA

Still, the recall has
proven costly for automakers' operations
in Canada and for
Canadian dealers.
The remaining
vehicles are subject
to "voluntary service actions tied to
Takata, which are not
reported to Transport
Canada," spokesman
Clay Cervoni said in an
email.
On top of the recall's
voluntary nature, its
sheer size is proving
problematic for the
industry. Suppliers
worldwide must build
millions of inflators
to replace the tens of
millions of inflators
in recalled vehicles
worldwide, on top of
their regular output
for new-vehicle production.
The result worldwide is a backlog of
vehicles that must
wait to get repairs
while dealers wait for
replacement parts.
It is a problem that
is impacting Canada
especially hard since
emphasis is being put
on first replacing airbag inflators in warmer, more humid regions
such as the southern
United States.

ONGOING PROBLEM

"The shortage of
vehicle parts subject
to recall is an ongoing
problem for dealers and
consumers in Canada,"
said Canadian
Automobile Dealers
Association (CADA)
Chief Economist
Michael Hatch.
"It further highlights the need for federal recall legislation
that ensures prompt
part replacement to
help relieve the significant financial burden on dealers that are
stuck with inventory
when necessary parts
are unavailable.
"Despite recent
developments we
remain hopeful that the
supply chain will move
to resolve the problem
soon."
CADA lobbied the
Senate earlier this
year to amend Bill S-2,
which passed the chamber in February, to
include "modest

SEE PARTS PAGE 19

SECOND FRONT

07.17

Ballard lands another bus deal in China
AUTOMOTIVE NEWS CANADA

VANCOUVER - BALLARD
Power Systems has signed a deal
with Zhuhai Yinlong Energy
Group to supply 10 fuel-cell
engines to the China-based battery-electric bus maker, the latest
in a series of deals with Chinese
bus producers.
The agreement calls for Ballard
to deliver its FCveloCity-MD
30-kilowatt engines in 2017 to
power Yinlong buses destined for

Ballard Power Systems CEO
Randy MacEwen says the
hydrogen buses for Yinlong in
China will augment its EV fleet.
(PHOTO: BALLARD POWER SYSTEMS)

smog-choked Beijing.
Ballard CEO Randy MacEwen
said Yinlong, projected to produce 35,000 EV buses this year, is
expanding its product portfolio to
include hybrid-fuel-cell-powered
buses to complement its existing
battery-electric models.
The fuel-cell hybrids will be
deployed on routes where battery-only buses face range and
recharging challenges. The
Ballard-powered units are in a
trial prior to a broader launch in
China. - ANC

Uber replaces transit system
Mayor of Innisfil, Ont.,
sees big savings,
better public service
By PERRY LEFKO
TORONTO CORRESPONDENT

A PARTNERSHIP BETWEEN
the Township of Innisfil, Ont., and
ride-hailing service Uber is the
first of its kind in Canada created
to help a municipality avoid the
cost of paying for its own transportation network. It has produced
some positive early results since
it began in May, said Mayor Gord
Wauchope.
Residents of Innisfil, 20 kilometres south of Barrie, Ont., booked
300 rides with Uber in the first
week alone.
"I don't think we anticipated 300
the first week, but that's certainly a great number for this area,"
Wauchope told Automotive News
Canada. "We have had young and
old people thanking us for getting
out and doing this for them. People
are using (the service) instead of
taking their vehicles to bars and
restaurants in the Innisfil and
Barrie areas and then driving
home. It's certainly helping with
the drinking-and-driving problems
in the area."
The program was conceived by
the township's planning department and subsequently approved

Innisfil Mayor Gord Wauchope, driven by Uber driver Jeff Wilton, takes
the first official Uber drive in Innisfil. ( P H O T O : T O W N S H I P O F I N N I S F I L )

by the township council; it was
deemed to be less costly than
implementing fixed-route bus service totaling $270,000 annually for
one bus and $610,000 for two buses.
The township, which has a population of about 36,000, is investing $100,000 in the first phase of
the program to pay Uber for the
amount to subsidize rides. It cost
$3-$5 per trip, depending on its
length.

APP-BASED PLATFORM
"For us to buy a couple buses

and run up and down the road
it's not beneficial for the town,"
Wauchope said. "Uber will look
after the whole town. Why would
we want taxpayers to pay for something that they would never use?
That's why we were looking at
Uber."
Following a "request for expressions of interest" sent out by the
township, Uber responded along
with Barrie Innisfil Taxi. Uber

SEE OTHER TOWNS PAGE 19

TRANS-CANADA NEWS 5,000 KILOMETRES OF STORIES

Michelin Movin'On movin'
back to Montreal

Ford returns to St-Basile
after 12 years

MONTREAL - MICHELIN,
which held its Movin'On international symposium for the first
time in Canada in June, has
announced the event will return
to Montreal in 2018.
Formerly known as Challenge
Bibendum, the symposium focuses on sustainable mobility with
speakers, workshops and demonstrations by industry experts,
startups and major manufacturers. The 2017 edition drew 4,000
participants from 31 countries.
Michelin President JeanDominique Senard said a chance
meeting with Montreal Mayor
Denis Coderre in Washington led

SAINT-BASILE-LE-GRAND, QUE.
- The co-owner of a future Ford
dealership here expressed pride in
bringing Ford back to his hometown at a recent event to inaugurate the future facility.
"I grew up in Saint-Bruno,"
said Charles-André Bilodeau,
"and for me, it's an honour to
be able to bring back the brand
(absent for 12 years), a few steps
from where I grew up."
Bilodeau and associate Étienne
Borgeat of the Krono Group, said
the dealership will include a gymnasium, a plant wall, a lounge and

Michelin showed its new 3-D
printed tire at the Movin'On
international symposium in
Montreal. The event will return
in 2018. ( P H O T O : M I C H E L I N )

to the initial invitation, and the
success of this year's event and
the city's "dynamic and innovative character" triggered the decision to come back next year.

SEE TRANS-CANADA PAGE 19

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