Automotive News Canada - May 2018 - 1

WINNIPEG WHITEOUT: DEALERSHIPS GET JETS FEVER/P3

MAY 2018 | VOL. 3, NO. 5 | AUTOMOTIVENEWS.CA FOR BREAKING NEWS AND DIGITAL EDITION

Used-vehicle segment is 'getting into the fast part' of disruption
TADA
AUTOMOTIVE
By JOHN IRWIN
TORONTO BUREAU

NIAGARA FALLS, ONT. - RAPID
change isn't constrained to new-vehicle
sales and technology. It also affects used
vehicles and auctions.
That's according to four remarketing
executives who spoke on a panel here
in April at the Trillium Auto Dealers
Association's Automotive Conference

Online growth expected
to pick up quickly;
not so much for
brick-and-mortar facilities

and Expo. Trillium represents more
than 1,000 new-vehicle dealers in
Ontario.
From the rapid growth of online auctions to growing customer demand for

quick, online vehicle appraisals, the
remarketing space is
sure to look different
in the near future,
CONFERENCE said Martin Douglas,
director of sales operAND EXPO
ations at TradeRev.
"I read an article the other day that
said disruption happens two ways:
slowly, then fast. I think we're getting
into the fast part right now."

CADILLAC
STEVE
MAN CARLISLE

Automaker will
invest to build
the RAV4 at two
Ontario plants

He led GM back from the depths
of bankruptcy, won over dealers
and even Unifor leader Jerry Dias,
but will his Canadian roots
be missed at GM Canada?

TORONTO BUREAU

FORMER GM CANADA
President Steve Carlisle's sudden ascent to the head of the
Cadillac is being met with congratulations and some uneasiness about the future of GM
Canada: A Canadian will no
longer be at the helm.
GM is betting that Carlisle's
record as an executive who
can move metal and build relationships with dealers will
help Cadillac better compete
with the luxury segment's
leaders.
But for many Canadian GM
dealers, Carlisle's departure
marks the end of an era, one
that was notable for a turnaround in the company's dealer relations and a 21-per-cent
increase in new-vehicle sales.
Steve Chipman, the president of the Birchwood

Automotive Group in
Winnipeg, said he hopes
Carlisle's successor, Travis
Hester, can fill Carlisle's boots
on the retail side, although
he said he will miss having a
Canadian in charge of GM's
Canadian business. Chipman
said Carlisle's connection and
passion for the country helped
persuade GM to invest in
Canadian research and development and manufacturing,
for instance.
"We've had a series of
American presidents, and
they're good, but it was nice
to have someone from Canada
that understands the market."

RACE FOR NO. 1
Carlisle's departure comes
at a pivotal point for GM
Canada as it looks to reestablish itself as the country's
No. 1 automaker by new-vehicle sales. The company sold
302,826 vehicles in 2017, fewer

SUCCESSION
PLANNING

SEE TADA PAGE 21

Toyota's
$1.4B bet
on Canada

THE CANADIAN

By JOHN IRWIN

As technology facilitates rapid
change, it will be imperative for automakers, dealers and auctions to keep
up to ensure the used-vehicle business,
a major source of dealer profitability,
remains so.
Like the rest of the shopping process, consumers are beginning to
demand online appraisals, said Jason
McClenahan, CEO of EBlock.

By JOHN IRWIN
TORONTO BUREAU

than 6,000 vehicles behind
Ford Motor Co., according to
the Automotive News Data
Center.
At the same time, Hester
arrives in a Canadian market that could be at the beginning of a downturn and in a
manufacturing environment
ripe with uncertainty due
to the renegotiation of the
North American Free Trade
Agreement.
Hester replaces Carlisle,
who served as GM Canada's
president from November

SEE CARLISLE PAGE 21

A TOUGH CONVERSATION
WITH FAMILY BEFORE HANDING
OVER THE KEYS

P4,5

TOYOTA MOTOR CORP.
is betting $1.4 billion on
Canadian auto manufacturing at a time when
uncertainty over free trade
has clouded the sector's
future.
Toyota will invest that
money into two plants
in Cambridge, Ont., and
Woodstock, Ont., that will
build the next-generation
RAV4 utility vehicle. The
federal and provincial governments will provide up
to $220 million in combined funding.
The upgrades will be
complete by 2019 and are
expected to create 450
jobs and about 1,000 co-op
placements. Toyota is also
expected to spend about
$200 million on research
and development in
Ontario.
"These measures support Canada's competitiveness and build our
capacity to do the kind
of advanced automotive
research and production
that companies like Toyota
want to do more of," Prime
Minister Justin Trudeau
said at a May 4 event, the
Canadian Press reported.
Toyota's investment
is one of the largest in
Canada's auto sector in

SPECIAL
REPORT
ON INDUSTRY

CAN
CANADA
COMPETE?

P16,17

recent years, though it is
not the only one. General
Motors, for instance,
recently spent about
$500 million to retool its
Oshawa, Ont., plant for
pickup assembly, while
Ford Motor Co. and
Fiat Chrysler have also
recently invested in their
Canadian facilities.

TRADE TENSIONS
Still, the investment is
notable for its timing amid
renegotiations of the North
American Free Trade

SEE TOYOTA PAGE 21

The RAV4 utility represented nearly a quarter
of Toyota/Lexus sales in
Canada through April.
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Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Automotive News Canada - May 2018
