Automotive News Canada - June 2019 - v2 - 6

* JUNE 2019

Mitsubishi sets sights on
TRENDING
Atlantic provinces for growth STORIES
automotivenews.ca
Fatter vehicle lineup,
a new image program
for dealerships
and a plan to grow
to 100 stores
from 93 in Canada

ONGOING WEB COVERAGE

TRADE
& TARIFFS
Politicians in Canada, Mexico and the United States are all

pushing to get the new U.S.-Mexico-Canada Agreement - also
known as NAFTA 2.0 - ratified. The United States and Canada,
in particular, are trying to get the deal passed before federal
election campaigns begin.

By JOHN IRWIN
TORONTO BUREAU

MITSUBISHI CANADA IS
expanding its dealership footprint
in Atlantic Canada as it rolls out
its second dealer image program
in three years nationwide.
The automaker in May opened
two new stores in the Atlantic
provinces: Steele Mitsubishi in
Halifax, N.S., and Charlottetown
Mitsubishi on Prince Edward
Island. With nine stores in
Atlantic Canada, Mitsubishi sees
the region as "a key growth market" moving forward.
"Our portfolio of smaller sport
utilities with [all-wheel-drive system] S-AWC aligns with the needs
of Atlantic Canada [consumers],"
John Vernile, Mitsubishi Canada
director of regional operations,
said in an emailed statement.
He said the company meshes
with the Maritimers' needs for
all-weather-capable vehicles.
An average winter in
Moncton, N.B., for example,
has about triple the snowfall of
Toronto or Edmonton, and about
double that of Calgary.
"Add to this Outlander
PHEV's momentum as the
best-selling plug-in hybrid in
Atlantic Canada in April and
you have a solid foundation for
growth."
The new Halifax and P.E.I.
stores were the latest dealerships
to be built to the specifications
of the automaker's new global
image program, affecting 5,000
stores worldwide and supplanting a 2017 Canada-specific dealership image program that was in
progress.
Mitsubishi Canada spokeswoman Michelle Lee-Gracey said
that as of May 1, 64 per cent of
the automaker's national dealer
network had enrolled in the program, up from 50 per cent when
it was announced in July 2018.
The automaker expects 15 to 20

FORD
KEEPS CUTTING
Ford Motor Co. CEO Jim Hackett told employees in late May that the

"Mitsubishi having a brand identity that's very different from
Nissan is important, so I like it," said John Hairabedian, president
of HGregoire, whose 22-dealership group in Quebec represents
both brands. P H O T O : H G R E G O I R E

to their stores, Hairabedian said.
of its 93 stores to be image-comBut he likes Mitsubishi's image
pliant by the end of the year, and
program "a lot" because it can
it aims to grow to 100 stores in
help the brand stand out from
Canada over the company's next
Nissan, which, like Mitsubishi,
fiscal year, which runs from April
is part of an alliance along with
to March. Some of the new stores
France-based automaker Renault.
will be located in Quebec as well
"Mitsubishi having a brand
as the eastern and western providentity that's very different from
inces, said Lee-Gracey who would
Nissan is important, so I
not elaborate because of
like it. We're anxious to
"non-disclosure agreesee how they're going to
ments."
differentiate both prodThe image program
ucts. The last thing we
comes as Mitsubishi looks
want is for them to cannito expand its market share
balize each other."
with a refreshed vehicle
Mitsubishi dealers pay
lineup.
for the renovations them"We're seeing the retail
Tammy
selves, with support from
footprint changing quite a Roach:
the automaker, though
bit" with the new proThe only
Lee-Gracey declined to
gram, Lee-Gracey said,
Mitsubishi
say how much support.
and it's happening quickdealer
Automaker-mandated
ly. "There's momentum,
principal
renovation programs
while at the same time we on P.E.I.
have long been a source
have an aggressive prodFILE PHOTO
of angst for retailers in
uct offensive."
Canada, as they must often pay
DIFFERENT FROM NISSAN
millions of dollars to renovate
their stores. Some contend such
John Hairabedian, president
renovations offer little return
of the Quebec-based HGregoire
on investment in an increasingdealership group, said its
ly digital retail landscape, while
Mitsubishi store in Laval, Que.,
automakers say having modunderwent renovations for the
ern technology and a consistent
previous image program in 2017
look are crucial to maintaining a
and will be retrofitted over the
brand's strength amid changes in
summer to meet the new requirethe car-shopping process.
ments. No renovation timetable
is in place for another Mitsubishi
'A BRAND TO CONTEND WITH'
store the group owns, he said.
The first Canadian store to
Dealers in Canada "can't do
open under the new image promuch" to avoid often-costly mangram was Saint-Hyacinthe
ufacturer-mandated renovations
Mitsubishi in Quebec.
Tammy Roach, dealer principal at Charlottetown Mitsubishi,
said the program will help re-establish the brand in the province.
It will be the third Canadian store
to open under the new program.
"Mitsubishi wasn't on P.E.I.
for 12 years prior to me opening,"
Roach said, "so, a lot of people
might hesitate and think, 'Are
they staying?' But now that they
see that I've committed so much
and seen this renovation and how
wonderful the showroom and
everything looks, it says to people that Mitsubishi is a brand to
contend with and to put on their
Saint-Hyacinthe Mitsubishi in Quebec became the automaker's first
list when they go shopping."
dealership in North America to convert to the brand's new global
- ANC
image program. Two new Mitsubishi stores also opened in Atlantic
-
Greg
Layson
contributed
to
Canada, a region the company thinks has growth potential.
this report.
P H O T O : S T- H YA C I N T H E M I T S U B I S H I

automaker is entering the final stretch of job cuts that began last
year, and by September it will have shed 7,000 salaried positions
globally - roughly 10 per cent of its salaried workforce - saving the
company US $600 million a year. How that affects Canadian
operations, and vehicle product, has yet to be determined.

CONSUMER REPORTS PANS TESLA TECH

A NEW AUTOMATIC-LANE-CHANGE FEATURE OF TESLA'S
Autopilot system doesn't work well and could be a safety risk to
drivers, according to tests performed by Consumer Reports.
The magazine and website
tested "Navigate on Autopilot"
and found it less competent
than human drivers, cutting
off other cars without leaving
enough space.
Senior Director of Auto
Testing Jake Fisher said in
a statement that the sysPHOTO: BLOOMBERG
tem doesn't appear to react
to brake lights or turn signals, and it can't anticipate what other
drivers will do.
"It's incredibly nearsighted," Fisher said. "You constantly have
to be one step ahead of it."
Consumer Reports says automakers should be required to
make public the validated evidence of a new system's safety
before releasing it on roads.

GERMANY'S LUXE BRANDS 'AT RISK'

SALES OF PREMIUM CARS PROBABLY HAVE PEAKED
globally, threatening the business model of Germany's luxury
automakers, according to analyst Philippe Houchois, managing
director of Jefferies Group.
Houchois said he was "neutral" on all three German automakers, meaning he doesn't recommend investors buy shares.
It was unusual, he said, for the bank not to recommend a "buy"
on any of the automakers.
"The premium business model as we have seen it, of model
proliferation and people paying more because of the social status of those cars, is probably reaching a peak," Houchois told
the Automotive News Europe Congress in Gothenburg, Sweden,
in May.
"We think the German premium business model is at risk"
of no longer continuing to grow, Houchois said.

BUICK ADDS FOURTH UTILITY TO LINEUP

THE GENERAL MOTORS DIVISION WILL SELL THE ENCORE
GX tall wagon at Canadian and U.S. dealerships starting in early
2020, General Motors has confirmed.
The compact model will slot
between the smaller Encore
subcompact and the larger
Envision in Buick's Canadian
and U.S. lineups. The largest
such model is the Enclave.
When the Encore GX
PHOTO: GENERAL MOTORS
arrives, Buick Canada will have
four premium utility vehicles across the three segments that customers are shopping in most: Small, compact and midsize.
Today, 90 per cent of Canadian Buick sales are utility vehicles, the automaker said in a statement.

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Automotive News Canada - June 2019 - v2

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