Automotive News Canada - June 2019 - v2 - 1

MITSUBISHI TARGETS EAST COAST FOR RETAIL EXPANSION/P6

JUNE 2019 | VOL. 4, NO.6 | AUTOMOTIVENEWS.CA FOR BREAKING NEWS AND DIGITAL EDITION

Lingering
pain after
metals
tariffs

Financial damage
cuts a wide swath,
from parts suppliers
to dealerships with
construction on hold
By DAVE HALL

WINDSOR CORRESPONDENT

THE YEAR-LONG FIGHT
over cross-border tariffs on
steel and aluminum products
has ended, but it inflicted widespread harm, crippling dealer-expansion plans and hampering new business for some
parts makers.
Prolonged uncertainty over
steel and aluminum prices
prompted many customers of
Canadian parts suppliers to
find alternatives in the United
States, said Flavio Volpe, president of the Automotive Parts
Manufacturers' Association
(APMA). As a result, "There's
some business
which may
never come
back," he said.
During
the dispute
which ended
Volpe: Tariffs
in mid-May,
are over, but
the Canadian
stability in the government
industry will
collected more
take some
than $1.27 biltime.
lion in retalFILE PHOTO
iatory tariffs,
according to a spokesperson
for the federal finance department.
It's revenue that will eventually be used to reimburse
affected Canadian steel and
aluminum companies and
parts suppliers.
As of May 14, $223.1 million
has been waived or refunded
to Canadian parts suppliers
impacted by the tariffs, according to the federal finance
department.
The U.S. tariffs, which
amounted to 25 per cent on

SEE TARIFFS PAGE 11

WOMEN

HOW FAR
THEY'VE COME,

AND THE
ROAD AHEAD
P16-18

IN THE CANADIAN AUTO INDUSTRY

New
Canadian
leaders
Four top executives
bring national knowledge
to Ford, Mazda, Nissan
and Volvo

Less
cash
on the
hood

DEAN
STONELEY

PRESIDENT,
FORD CANADA

The market is
slowing, so why
curb incentives?

STEVE
MILETTE

By DANA FLAVELLE

TORONTO CORRESPONDENT

PRESIDENT,
NISSAN CANADA

MATT GIRGIS

MANAGING DIRECTOR,
VOLVO CAR OF CANADA

By JOHN IRWIN
TORONTO BUREAU

DAVID KLAN
CEO, MAZDA
CANADA

CANADIANS HAVE TAKEN THE REINS AT
Ford, Mazda, Nissan and Volvo in their home country
as new-vehicle sales continue to slump and technological change threatens to upend traditional automotive
retail models.
Dealers interviewed by Automotive News Canada
hope that leaders familiar with the domestic landscape
will mean a smooth transition in disruptive times.
"When you come in [from another country] and
Canada's your first assignment, you've got a big
learning curve," said Steve Chipman, CEO of the
Birchwood Automotive dealership group in Winnipeg.
"Effectively, a person who comes from Europe sees
Canada and can see five different countries. There's
B.C., there's the prairies, there's Ontario, there's
Quebec and the Atlantic provinces, and they're all different."
From February through early June, four Canadians
assumed the top job at automakers' operations in their
home country:

SEE DEALER PAGE 22

AUTOMAKERS ARE
pulling back on vehicle incentive programs
as sales slow, choosing
instead to concentrate on
maintaining profitability rather than chasing
market share, industry
research indicates.
In Canada, the average
manufacturers' incentive
per vehicle was $5,200 in
May, down from $6,400 in
May 2018, according to J.D.
Power data.
"It's a shift in strategy from going for market share," said Robert
Karwel, senior manager of
J.D. Power's automotive
practice in Canada.
"The automakers are
saying, 'We know we're
going to sell less this year,
so let's ensure we maintain good profitability.'"
While that might seem
counterintuitive - in most
falling markets, consumers expect to see more discounts, not fewer - automakers are choosing to cut
production to match lower
demand, Karwel said.

SEE FALLING PAGE 22

S AV E T H E D A T E

OCTOBER 23 * 2019
P O W E R E D B Y:

http://www.AUTOMOTIVENEWS.CA

Automotive News Canada - June 2019 - v2

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