Automotive News Canada - July 2019 - v2 - 18

By KELLY TAYLOR

WINNIPEG CORRESPONDENT

If one word could sum up
the first half of 2019, it's
fallout. Fallout from U.S.
President Donald Trump's
tariffs on steel and aluminum; fallout from the
announcement of a plant
closure in Oshawa, Ont.;
and fallout from a top
executive's decision
to participate in a U.S.
investigation into sales
practices at Fiat Chrysler
Automobiles.
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FFEDERAL
EDERAL ZEV MANDATE: OTTAWA WON'T DICTATE TECHNOLOGY TO INDUSTRY/P16

FEBRUARY 2019 | VOL. 4, NO.2 | AUTOMOTIVENEWS.CA FOR BREAKING NEWS AND DIGITAL EDITION

JANUARY

GIVE UP, OSHAWA, IT'S
over. That's General Motors'
response to pleas from the city
to reconsider the closure of
Oshawa Assembly. (Except it
wasn't over, as readers would
discover in May.) ■ ■ ■ Higher
interest rates and fallout from
cost-cutting by GM and other
automakers are forecast to put
a dent in sales, though experts
expect a soft landing after 2018
new-vehicle sales topped two
million for the second year in
a row. ■ ■ ■ Fear of the future
is causing some dealer principals - worried that their
bricks-and-mortar establishments will be replaced by
online sales and mobile vehicle delivery and service -
to cash out. "Since the talk
of autonomous vehicles and
electrification of vehicles,
those two things put the fear
of God into a lot of dealers,"
said Farid Ahmad, president
of buy-sell company Dealer
Solutions North America.
"Single-store businesses feel
especially vulnerable."

FEBRUARY

DEAN STONELEY JOINS A
growing lineup of Canadians
getting keys to the C-suite.
The Burlington, Ont., native
replaced Mark Buzzell as CEO
of Ford of Canada, a move
hailed by many dealers.
■ ■ ■ Parts suppliers are struggling under the gravity of U.S.
metals tariffs as added costs,
delayed federal assistance
and paperwork bog down the
sector. ■ ■ ■ Canadian dealerships are pushing back against

SPECIAL
CIASSHOW

31 UNVEILINGS/
UNVEILINGS/P14-15

NEW PRESIDENT ON THE FUTURE OF AUTO SHOWS
SHOWS//P16

Delayed
rebates as
taxing as
metal tariffs
Despite federal
promises of relief,
'backlog' keeps
suppliers waiting
By ROSEANN DANESE

WINDSOR CORRESPONDENT

THE ONGOING TARIFFS ON
U.S. metal imports as well
as delays in receiving federal rebates and exemptions are
hurting parts suppliers' competitiveness and burying them
under a mountain of paperwork, industry executives
warn.
"The longer they go on, the
longer the Canadian supply
chain is going to have to factor
them into their pricing," said
Jonathon Azzopardi, president
of the Canadian Association of
Mold Makers. "When you're a
supplier and your main component is steel, and it's sometimes
70 per cent of your costs, you
have no choice, you can't afford
to have a 25-per-cent surtax on
top of that metal and still survive."
By the time Clover Tool
Manufacturing received a federal exemption from tariffs
on certain
U.S. metal
imports,
the company lost out
on new business worth
about $25 million from a
long-time
Clover Tool's
U.S.-based
George Zeni:
Tier One cusMillions in
tomer, said
business lost.
George Zeni,
FILE PHOTO
vice-president of the company, which
employs 300 people at two
Ontario plants.
"At first they said 'you've

SEE SUPPLIERS PAGE 23

Facelift
fatigue

Hanover Honda founder Larry Lantz, seated, says sons,
from left, Dave, Rob and Terrance Copeland, have a
different perspective due
to their ages.

The

Newonkids
the

As dealers make preparing
for digital future a top priority,
some view mandated store
renovations as just a facade
By JOHN IRWIN
TORONTO BUREAU

lot

Looking at the future of
dealerships through the
fresh eyes of two families

By PERRY LEFKO

TORONTO CORRESPONDENT

HANOVER, ONT. - DAVE LANTZ
and his two brothers are pumping
young blood into an aging dealership
body facing uncertainty in the age of
high-tech disruption.
"I can't speak for [the next] 50
years, but I think we're really far
away from ordering [cars] online
and picking them up at a kiosk," said
Lantz, sales manager at Hanover
Honda in this town about 360 kilometres northwest of Toronto. "I don't
know how there could be another
facet to do the things we do."
Lantz, 35; brother Rob, 36; and their
32-year-old stepbrother, Terrance
Copeland, all work for their father,
Larry Lantz, who took over ownership
of the dealership in 2007 when it was
called Town & Country Honda.
All see a long-term future in the
family business, despite predictions
that online shopping, the growing

5 KEY

prevalence of ride-hailing services and
the advent of autonomous and electric
vehicles could render the current dealership model obsolete within the next
decade.
"There's such a human connection to the vehicles - to the whole
process - that will never go away,"
said Copeland, vehicle and leasing
specialist at Hanover Honda. "It's a
very emotional time for purchasing
a vehicle. It's a human interaction,
and that's basically why I got into this
business."

FAMILY MATTERS
Decisions to stick with the dealership business, such as those made by
the Lantz family, are becoming tougher in an already turbulent time.
Farid Ahmad, CEO of Dealer
Solutions Mergers and Acquisitions
in Markham, Ont., said the number of
dealers 65 and older is at an all-time
high in Canada. The demographic

SEE NEXT-GENERATION PAGE 10

AUTOMAKERS
are not easing up on
mandated dealership image programs
even as dealers grow
increasingly opposed
to costly renovations
that they say are out
of step with the rapidly changing technology that threatens
to disrupt traditional
business models.
"With all of the
question marks
around where the
industry is going
longer term, we
think that [automaker] requirements
would be more reasonable," said John
White, president
of the Canadian
Automobile Dealers
Association, which
represents about
3,200 new-vehicle
retailers.
Store renovations, which can run
into the millions of
dollars, have long
been a source of friction between dealers
and automakers. As
car shopping moves
online, land prices

rise and sales soften,
retailers are becoming more vocal, arguing that technology,
not bricks and mortar, should be the
focus of investment
dollars.
"I have to question whether [renovation programs are]
going to be that relevant 10 or 15 years
from now," said
Ross Ulmer, co-owner of Ulmer Auto
Group, which operates dealerships in

SEE DEALERS PAGE 24

2019 is half
over, and so far
it has been a
roller-coaster
ride of sales
and tariff
tensions, and
concern about
a shrinking
manufacturing
footprint in
Canada

Ross Ulmer:
"Onerous" image
programs were a
factor in selling his
Nissan and Hyundai
dealerships.
PHOTO CONTRIBUTED
BY ROSS ULMER

P17 Buy Sell Dealership Expertise
Boutique‐professional style LEWICKI CONSULTING
not
TECH TERMS
High‐volume hype
TO KNOW FOR 2019

30 years' experience

www.LACLTD.ca

CANADIAN AI COMPANY RESHAPING THE SUPPLY CHAIN/P6

aggressive image-program
requirements imposed by
automakers, saying the costly refits are out of step with
changing consumer demand.
"With all the question marks
around where the industry is
going longer term, we think
that [automaker] requirements
would be more reasonable,"
said John White, president
of the Canadian Automobile
Dealers Association (CADA).

MARCH

INDUSTRY EXECUTIVES,
describing a "death by a million cuts," call on the Ontario
government to slash electricity rates, saying that
would improve the province's competitiveness more
than a $40-million provincial aid package. "At some
point, somebody says it's better to do this in Michigan ...
or Tennessee ... or Mexico,"
said Rob Wildeboer, chairman
of parts supplier Martinrea
International. ■ ■ ■ In Red Deer,
Alta., Garrett Scott is set to
open the first certified passive-house dealership in the

MARCH 2019 | VOL. 4, NO.3 | AUTOMOTIVENEWS.CA FOR BREAKING NEWS AND DIGITAL EDITION

FCA eyes AWD Pacifica to regain sales traction
By JOHN IRWIN
and GRACE MACALUSO
AUTOMOTIVE NEWS CANADA

FIAT CHRYSLER AUTOMOBILES
appears poised to add an all-wheel-drive
powertrain to the Chrysler Pacifica
minivan as well as replace its market-leading Dodge Grand Caravan
with an entry-level variant bearing the

Entry-level Voyager
to replace top-selling
Grand Caravan: Analyst

a decision. Unifor represents about 6,000 hourly workers at FCA's
Windsor Assembly plant
in Ontario, which builds
the two minivans as
well as a Pacifica plug-in
hybrid.
Chiodo
"All-wheel drive is
obviously a very popular question right
now," Chiodo said. "FCA has not pro-

Voyager name, as the automaker tries
to retain its dominance in a segment
that has lost sales to utility vehicles.
Dino Chiodo, national auto director at Unifor, said FCA is examining
the AWD option but has yet to make

vided us with any intel with regards
to future product, but they are looking
at the viability and being able to bring
that to market."
In addition, two sources who did not
want to be identified said they have
been told the move is in the works.
They include a supplier employee working on a part designed to accommo-

SEE CHRYSLER PAGE 4

$200/yr. to heat (and cool)?
A new groundbreaking Alberta Subaru store will waste almost nothing
and has walls nearly two feet thick. The owners expect to recover the
extra building costs in seven years, while an industry expert thinks
the design will align with the values of buyers who connect
with environmental initiatives
By DOUG FIRBY

CALGARY CORRESPONDENT

RED DEER, ALTA. - WHEN SCOTT
Subaru officially opens in this mid-sized
city in May, it's not going to look much
different than any other dealership. But
under the surface, it is revolutionary.
Customers will first notice the suction-like resistance on the tightly sealed
front door, and then walk past walls that
are nearly two feet thick. Inside, they'll
find an even temperature, without cold
spots, even in mid-winter, and breathe in
purified air.
This will be the first certified pas-

The exterior is keeping with the Subaru
corporate theme. "They've been onboard
from the beginning," said Scott.

sive-house auto dealership in the world,
according to owner Garrett Scott.
The passive-house design was the brainchild of Scott, whose family has been in the
auto retail business in the city of 100,000
residents since 1968. The Scotts own a GM
dealership, plus another in Cranbrook,
B.C., and recently sold a Nissan outlet.
When Garrett decided it was time for a new
building for the Subaru brand, he wanted
to break the mold.
"We wanted a unique piece," said
Scott, who was inspired by a visit to
Subaru's plant in Indiana, which has a
zero-waste strategy. He discovered that
two dealerships were already at the LEED
(Leadership in Energy and Environmental
Design) platinum level of efficiency, and
that there was only one level higher to go:
Passive house.
"As we put the modeling together, we
realized that the savings are going to be
tremendous," said Scott. He calculated that
the $1.2-million premium he paid to make
the $6-million structure (before equipment)
as efficient as possible would be recovered
within seven years.
It is so energy efficient, heating and

Garrett Scott, owner of
Scott Subaru, says he
doesn't consider himself an
environmentalist.
"We shouldn't be wasting
energy if we don't have to."
PHOTO: DOUG FIRBY

SEE DEALER PAGE 4

I L L U S T R AT I O N S U P P L I E D B Y S C O T T S U B A R U

AUTOMOTIVE NEWS CANADA

CONGRESS

DECISION MAKERS
Buy Sell Dealership Expertise
TAKE ON THE ISSUES Boutique‐professional style
LEWICKI CONSULTING
FACING THE INDUSTRY not
30 years' experience

PAGES16-18

High‐volume hype

www.LACLTD.ca

world. Scott Subaru, built with
60-centimetre-thick walls and
highly sealed doors, is predicted to cost $200 a year to heat
and cool. ■ ■ ■ Making the front
page of the March edition: A
potential updated two-minivan
strategy by FCA. Joe McCabe,
CEO of the U.S.-based global forecasting and consulting company AutoForecast
Solutions, says indications are
that the Voyager name will be
affixed to a new Pacifica-based
entry-level minivan to replace
the aging Grand Caravan.

The strategy, along with
reports that FCA will tool up
an all-wheel-drive version of
the Pacifica, is neither confirmed nor denied by the company.

BEST PRACTICES: STORING 1,400 SETS OF TIRES UPSTAIRS/P7

MAY 2019 | VOL. 4, NO.5 | AUTOMOTIVENEWS.CA FOR BREAKING NEWS AND DIGITAL EDITION

Canada uncompetitive? Toyota shrugs
By JOHN IRWIN

governments and a talented
labour pool that drives innovative thinking.
"Over time, we built a
FOR YEARS, CANADA HAS
reputation at
been known as a
[Toyota Motor
tough place to make
MANUFACTURING
Manufacturing
money building
Canada Inc.] that
cars.
we're a good place to
Toyota sees things differently, crediting support from
the federal and provincial
SEE TOYOTA PAGE 4
TORONTO BUREAU

Linda Hasenfratz
of Linamar

By JOHN IRWIN
TORONTO BUREAU

Car sales continue dive: Could the bottom be zero?
TORONTO - THE NEW-PASSENGERcar market will collapse over the next
two years as consumers continue to
gravitate toward utility vehicles, say
industry experts.
Robert Karwel, senior manager of
J.D. Power's Canadian automotive
practice, said he expected cars to make

Low payments push
Canadians into utility
vehicles, but a real death
shot could come from
U.S. President Trump

up 25 per cent of the new-vehicle market by the middle of 2019, and 20 per
cent in 2020.
"It's not a coincidence at all that

EV REPORT CARD

ONLY TWO PROVINCES EARN PASSING GRADES/P16-17

For job gains,
look beyond
auto plants
Hiring is on the
rise as dealerships,
suppliers, the
aftermarket
sector and even
manufacturing
show growth

from the 2008-09 economic collapse.
The rise in employment
comes amid uncertainty over
the future of Canadian auto
production, which has fallen 25 per cent, according to
Ontario government data.
Jobs at dealerships, for
instance, rose 20 per cent
since 2010 to 159,045, while
aftermarket jobs jumped 17
By JOHN IRWIN
TORONTO BUREAU
per cent to 407,253.
"The politics in any country tend to - from an autoTOTAL AUTOMOTIVEmotive perspective, anyrelated employment
way - only look
has grown by 17 per
at manufacturcent since the start
ing," said Dennis
of the decade, drivDesRosiers, presien in large part by
Automotive jobs
dent of DesRosiers
have been increassurging sales, lonAutomotive
ing
since
the
ger-lasting vehicles
Consultants. "And
Great Recession,
and Canadian vehithe theory behind
a result of higher
cle ownership reach- vehicle sales and
that is that manufacownership rates.
ing record levels.
turing is mobile and
Total employment:
According to
when you lose it, it's
*
2010:
703,451
data supplied
gone. Whereas the
by DesRosiers
* 2011: 715,513
nonmanufacturing
Automotive
* 2012: 733,136
side, if a dealer on
Consultants Inc.,
one side of Toronto
* 2013: 745,660
823,052 Canadians
closes, another one
* 2014: 766,516
were employed in
opens up across the
* 2015: 782,592
auto-related jobs in
street. It's technical* 2016: 790,243
2018, ranging from
ly net-neutral in the
* 2017: 803,584
dealerships and
country.
* 2018: 823,052
aftermarket com"So I understand
Source: DesRosiers
Automotive Consultants
panies, to assembly
the politics of it. It's
plants and suppliers.
bad to lose manufacThat compares with 703,451 in turing because it has a
2010, when the industry and
the economy as a whole were
just beginning to emerge
SEE MANUFACTURING PAGE 24

MORE JOBS

Karwel: Longer
loans make
more expensive
utility vehicles
affordable.
FILE PHOTO

It's a slowing
market,
and dealers
are taking
long-term risks
in the struggle
to earn automaker
incentives

the rise in popularity of utilities
has also meant that
the average loan
term in Canada has
increased and that
our dominant loan
term is 84 months,"
Karwel said. "That's
the only way customers are spending
on average $13,000 or

MOST OF LINAMAR CORP.'S SALES
growth in 2018 came from its nonautomotive
business, a sign that the global parts supplier's diversification strategy could be paying
off.
"Diversification is really to give us additional avenues in which to grow our business by [leveraging] off of our strengths in
manufacturing, purchasing, lean manufacturing [and] metal," Linamar CEO
Linda Hasenfratz told Automotive News
Canada.
"It wasn't born out of a desire to

$14,000 more to get a utility body style
vehicle and still make it affordable."
Cars accounted for 29.7 per cent of
all 2018 new-vehicle sales in Canada,
according to the Automotive News
Data Center in Detroit. Despite sales of
more than two million vehicles for the
second time in history, total car sales
finished below 600,000 units. Compare
that with 2009, when automakers sold

Is India the
next Mexico?

SEE U.S. TARIFFS PAGE 26

STAIR-STEP
PROGRAMS

PAGES 16-17

It's a first for the
automaker, which
will cater to the
aftermarket and
other suppliers

By JOHN IRWIN
TORONTO BUREAU

AS NEW-VEHICLE SALES DECLINE,
a growing number of Canadian auto dealers
are balking at stair-step incentive programs, blaming them
for damaging long-term profitability.
"You may get the money
that month or that quarter,
but it costs you in the long
run. It costs you at year-end.
It's not a fun game to play,"
Michael
said Michael Wyant, COO of
Wyant of
the western Canada-based
the Wyant
Wyant Group, which has Fiat
Group says
Chrysler, Ford, Hyundai,
stair-step
Mercedes-Benz and Audi
programs
stores.
eventually
The programs automakers
catch up with
employ to incentivize dealers
dealers.
to be aggressive on new-vehiFILE PHOTO
cle sales vary from brand to
brand. Those structured as stair-step plans
generally offer lucrative bonuses to dealers for
hitting increasingly higher sales targets.

falling

By PERRY LEFKO

TORONTO CORRESPONDENT

CANADA'S AUTO DEALERS HAVE
plenty of reasons to be wary of a new
federal Incentives for Zero-Emission
Vehicles (iZEV) program designed to
energize sales of electric vehicles.
But those interviewed by Automotive
News Canada said a simple mix of
speed and efficiency could go a long

While the Canadian new-vehicle market
soared to new heights earlier this decade, targets were attainable for many retailers. Some
became dependent on those bonuses for much
of their revenue, said dealers interviewed by
Automotive News Canada.
But as sales begin to decline, many dealers
are finding it harder to hit those targets, causing some stores to either miss out on crucial
revenue or consider undertaking questionable
tactics to reach them. And dealers often order
extra vehicles and boost marketing spending
to hit them, making it costly to fall short of targets.

SEE AS LINAMAR PAGE 18

Mike Hicks
of mold
maker DMS

Tim Galbraith
of Cavalier Tool

"We are now so much
more than a vehicle manufacturing facility," GM Canada
President Travis Hester said
during a May 8 news conference held with Unifor
President Jerry Dias.
"We are integrated into
the future of our business,
the future of our development
and into an entire business
model for parts manufacturing and accessory, aftermarket parts and component sets
that will sustain us for at least
10 years."
Building parts for other
companies represents a major
shift in the way GM does business, especially since it spun
off its parts division to
create Delphi Corp., more
than 20 years ago. Automotive
consultant Ron Harbour said

SEE OSHAWA PAGE 23

RELATED
STORY/P23

The new autonomous-vehicle
test track for the Oshawa
Assembly site is viewed
as a feather in Canada's
technology hat.

Spotty information, little
lead time for the May 1
rollout, and dealers are
fearful that Ottawa will
also be slow to reimburse

way in avoiding the pitfalls of similar
provincial EV rebate plans.
Oumar Dicko, an economist at

Oumar Dicko:
Concerned
whether the federal
government can
handle the rebate
volume

I L L U S T R AT I O N : G M C A N A D A

FILE PHOTO

the Canadian Automobile Dealers
Association (CADA), hoped that the
process would be seamless for consumers and retailers.
"I can only assume there will be a

lot of claims processed at the same time
across the country, so I hope the government system that is in place is efficient and works well enough so that we
can expedite the process," Dicko said.
"That's my concern at the moment
because I can expect there will be a lot
of claims processed when dealers can
actually submit them."

SEE REPAYMENT PAGE 6

remuneration in retaliation.
To help kickstart electric-vehicle sales across the
country Ottawa implements
its $300-million iZEV program,
offering rebates of up to $5,000
for certain vehicles, although
not initially including the
Chrysler Pacifica Hybrid
because it was priced above
the maximum allowed. Amid
protest, the Pacifica is later
allowed.

■■■

SQUEEZING PROFITS
"They just fundamentally don't work
in a difficult marketplace," said Dennis
DesRosiers, president of DesRosiers
Automotive Consultants Inc. "When the market is growing, they work, and they work very
well. They really do get dealers to become very
aggressive. The amount of money at stake can
be huge, and so it really motivates dealers to
go after it. Unfortunately, they only were able

SEE THE STAIR-STEP PAGE 24

FINAL MONTH
DEALERS: TO REGISTER

TORONTO - GENERAL
Motors' $170-million plan to
turn its Oshawa, Ont., assembly plant into a parts operation signals a new business
model for the automaker and
gives the factory a renewed
lease on life.
"Getting that kind of
money is more than a stay of
execution and does allow them
to live to fight another day,"
said Kristin Dziczek, vice-president of industry, labour and
economics at the Center for
Automotive Research in Ann
Arbor, Mich. "That's better
than closing."
GM plans to convert
Oshawa Assembly into a
plant producing parts for
vehicles such as the GMC
Acadia, Chevrolet Traverse
and Equinox crossovers. The
plant also will do stamping
for GM's CAMI Assembly
plant in Ingersoll, Ont., and
the automaker is in talks to
perform similar work for
suppliers including Magna
International Inc. and
Martinrea International Inc.
The Oshawa site will also
become home to a test track

whittle down the automotive. I'd love to see
all of them grow. And if one of them starts to
grow faster than the other, OK, let's do that."
In March, the Guelph, Ont.-based manufacturer reported that its industrial division, which includes agricultural equipment
and aerial work platforms, more than doubled operating earnings to $346.2 million
while sales surged 70 per cent to $1.89 billion. Linamar attributed the increases to the
2017 acquisition of harvesting-equipment
supplier MacDon and "strong market share
gains for scissors [lifts]."

Jonathon Azzopardi
of the Canadian
Association
of Mold Makers

for vehicles with autonomous
and other advanced technologies.

MORE THAN MANUFACTURER

By JOHN IRWIN
TORONTO BUREAU

New federal EV rebates: High-stakes trial by fire

THE DANGER
OF

down

EXCLUSIVE
LEAD SPONSOR

GM to become
a parts supplier

Responding to U.S. trade uncertainty,
Canadian companies explore new countries
and venture into nonautomotive territory

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

By JOHN IRWIN

Auto executives berate
Canada's power costs,
corporate taxes and
uncompetitive incentives
for new investment. Toyota
has a different take, adding
Lexus NX production
alongside the related
Toyota RAV4. P H O T O : T O Y O TA

Suppliers
diversify

CARBON TAX IN EFFECT: WHAT IT MEANS TO AUTO/P3

TORONTO BUREAU

$170-MILLION PLANT LIFELINE

Oshawa 2.0:

As other automakers idle assembly lines,
Toyota touts Lexus NX production for 2022

E 31
PAG
SEE

APRIL

OF ALL THE NEW
vehicles sold in 2018, just 29.7
per cent were cars, and the
prediction is for that number to fall: Robert Karwel,
senior manager of J.D.
Power's Canadian automotive practice, said he expected cars to make up 25 per
cent of the new-vehicle market by the middle of 2019,
and 20 per cent in 2020. And
there appears to be no bottom in sight. ■ ■ ■ Aggressive
spending by FCA on its U.S.
plants fuels concerns about
the future of the Brampton,
Ont., facility, which builds
the Dodge Challenger and
Charger and the Chrysler 300.
Still, says Flavio Volpe, president of the Automotive Parts
Manufacturers' Association,
FCA's US $4.5 billion investment in new and existing
assembly plants in Michigan
will be worth billions in business for parts suppliers in
Canada. ■ ■ ■ Although new-vehicle manufacturing is a continuing dark cloud hanging
over the industry in Canada
- punctuated by the cutting of
the third shift at FCA's minivan plant in Windsor - optimism over the future of the
auto sector shifts to peripheral
industries, as jobs numbers at
suppliers, dealerships and the
aftermarket employment grow
to 823,052 in 2018 from 703,451
in 2010.

JUNE

U.S. TARIFFS ON STEEL
and aluminum are finally
over, but the yearlong dispute deals a crippling blow to
Canada's auto sector. "There's
some business which may
never come back," said APMA
President Flavio Volpe. The
25-per-cent tariffs were applied
in June 2018 and ended in
May. The volatile pricing of
metals even delayed some
dealership construction.
■ ■ ■ May new-vehicle sales dip
5.8 per cent, which is the 15th
consecutive monthly drop
with most of the blame resting on FCA's shoulders. The
slowdown comes as automakers curb incentives, focusing
on boosting profitability over
market share. ■ ■ ■ Two significant features within the pages
of the June edition: Interviews
with female executives making headway in a still-predominantly male-dominated industry; and the rise of Canadians
to the top positions of Ford,
Mazda, Volvo and Nissan.
Does being Canadian help?
Dealers say the executives
will have a built-in knowledge,
but they also say competency
trumps citizenship. - ANC

MAY

GENERAL MOTORS
throws Oshawa Assembly
a $170-million lifeline as it
decides to convert the plant
into a parts supplier, but the
move is expected to save only
300 of the 2,600 jobs at the
plant. The union representing the workers - Unifor -
expects that to grow to 500
within three years.
■ ■ ■ Late in the month, FCA
Canada CEO Reid Bigland,
who also heads U.S. sales,
launches a whistleblower
lawsuit against his employer, alleging the carmaker is punishing him for
participating in a U.S.
Securities and Exchange
Commission investigation into inflated
sales figures at FCA.
Bigland accuses
FCA of withholding
bonuses and other

JU NE

MITSUB
ISHI TA
RGETS
EAST
20 19 |
VO L.

Linge
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4, NO
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SEE FA
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OCT E T H E D A
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* 201
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D B
Y:

Automotive News Canada - July 2019 - v2

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Automotive News Canada - July 2019 - v2