Automotive News Canada - April 2020 - v2 - 6

* APRIL 2020

Restarting auto plants won't TRENDING
STORIES
be like pushing a button
automotivenews.ca
Parts shortages and
pandemic precautions
complicate a delicate
process to bring
factories back up

ONGOING WEB COVERAGE

COVID-19 PANDEMIC

The health crisis is also wreaking economic havoc around
the globe. The Canadian auto industry is reacting to the fluid
situation on a constant basis.

By JOHN IRWIN
TORONTO BUREAU

WHEN CANADA'S AUTO
industry finally gets back on line,
it will be part of an unprecedented
continental effort facing challenges ranging from coping with parts
shortages to following new health
and safety protocols.
Unifor President Jerry Dias,
whose union represents hourly
employees at the Detroit Three's
Canadian assembly plants, said
he expects plants to initially come
back on line as one-shift operations, adjusting for decreased
demand and allowing
for regular cleaning. But
workers must first be
convinced that it is safe
for them to go back to
work, Dias said, cautioning the
automakers against moving "unilaterally" to reopen factories.
"Just say one
of the [automakers] puts up one
of their hands
first and says,
'OK, come back
to work. People
are going to be
saying: 'How
come we're
coming back to
Dias: Wants
work, but these
automakers
other plants
to return to
and companies
production
aren't? Is it safe
gradually and
for me?' "
as a group so
As has hapthat workers
pened with
believe it's safe
their U.S. counto return to t
terparts, Unifor
he plants
and the autoFILE PHOTO
makers have
formed a task force designed to
increase safety and health protections for factory employees and
help slow the spread of the virus.
Meanwhile, Fiat Chrysler
Automobiles Canada has taken
preliminary steps to restart. Some
employees are currently working at the automaker's Ontario
assembly plants in Windsor
and Brampton, where they are
deep-cleaning and tweaking job
stations to make room for social
distancing, said company spokeswoman Lou Ann Gosselin.
Those arriving for work each
day no longer simply swipe their
timecard and walk into the factory as they used to. Instead,
employees are now required to
wear face masks and gloves.
"Employees also will be asked
to complete a wellness self-assessment at home each day before
reporting to work," Gosselin
wrote in an email to Automotive
News Canada. "This includes taking their temperature and answering five survey questions."
North American auto plants

THE PUSH FOR THE USMCA

Workers at FCA's plant in Windsor, Ont., are cleaning and reworking
job stations to accommodate a manufacturing future of social
distancing. That future includes mandatory face masks and gloves.
P H O T O : G R E G L AY S O N

began to shut down in mid-March
as the COVID-19 pandemic intensified. In April, Toyota, Honda
and FCA extended their shutdowns until early May, while
Ford and General
Motors have not set
return dates.
A spokesman for
Honda Canada said the
automaker was monitoring the
situation, while a spokesman for
Toyota Canada declined comment.

COVID-19

LEAR GUIDE OFFERS GLIMPSE
While the timing of the reopening of the manufacturing sector
will depend in large part on the
spread of the virus and government regulations, a 51-page document issued in April by the global
seating supplier Lear Corp. provides a look into just how complex
reopening factories could be.
The Lear playbook outlines
steps that manufacturers might
take. They include instituting
on-site health screenings for
workers and visitors, setting up
training centres for employees
and completely disinfecting all
work sites.
"This has been a difficult time
for everyone, and reestablishing
a workplace where employees
feel comfortable performing their
jobs safely is a multifaceted challenge," Lear CEO Ray Scott wrote
in the report.
Even after the current shutdowns lift, global supply chains
will be under stress during the
pandemic as outbreaks in affected
countries or regions lead to new
shutdowns or economic restrictions. The Canadian auto manufacturing sector is tied most closely to the United States, said Robyn
Gibbard, senior economist at the
Conference Board of Canada.
"It's such an integrated industry that there's more potential for
delays than in some other industries."
Auto analyst Dennis
DesRosiers estimated that about
70 per cent of Canada's supply sector and 80 per cent of its assembly
sector is dependent on the United
States.

GETTING BACK ... GRADUALLY
Dias's push for a gradual, coordinated industrial reboot was
echoed by former Ford Motor

Co. CEO Mark Fields, who urged
North American industry leaders
to immediately begin collaborating on a measured return to full
production.
"The issue is going to be probably between 30 and 60 days from
now," Fields said in an April 8
podcast with sibling publication
Automotive News. "Every supplier
is going to be facing a cash crunch
because they're the ones who are
going to have to front the labour,
[be] buying the material, paying
for the logistics to bring up their
assembly lines."
Sam Fiorani, vice-president
of global vehicle forecasting at
AutoForecast Solutions, said
North American vehicle production will be down "no less than
20 per cent" compared with 2019.
Fiorani warned that it could be
"even worse depending on how
the region deals
with the pandemic and its
fallout."
And worries
remain about
COVID-19 taking hold in
Mexico, which
averaged $13.7
billion a year in
Gibbard: Auto
manufacturing auto exports to
Canada between
is "such an
2015 and 2017,
integrated
according to figindustry that
ures from the
there's more
federal governpotential for
ment.
delays than
China, where
in some other
the COVID-19
industries."
outbreak began,
PHOTO VIA
ROBYN GIBBARD
could also offer
clues on how
the manufacturing sector might
reopen. By March, automakers
had begun to slowly ramp up production after much of the country
- particularly the city of Wuhan,
the initial epicenter of the virus -
had been locked down beginning
in January.
"You can look to China for
some degree of optimism," said
Rebekah Young, director of fiscal and provincial economics at
Scotiabank. - ANC
- Greg Layson, Lindsay Chappell,
Ellen van Wageningen and
Bloomberg contributed to this
report

U.S. President Donald Trump wants the new United StatesMexico-Canada Agreement to go into effect July 1, but
several industry stakeholders are asking him to slow down
and wait until Jan. 1, 2021, given the COVID-19 pandemic.

MAKEOVER SPORTS A 'MATURE' LOOK

Kia says its fourth-generation Sorento takes cues from the larger Telluride that has been a major hit
with customers and reviewers alike.
So, why mess with a winning formula?
Kia says the Sorento's exterior design
has sharper lines, high-tech details
and elongated proportions for a more
"mature" presence than that of the curPHOTO: KIA
rent generation. The new Sorento is
the first Kia vehicle to be based on the brand's new midsize-SUV
platform. It can hold up to seven passengers.

'GEOMETRIC' LOOK TARGETS SEDAN LEADERS

With the redesigned Elantra, Hyundai is aiming for compact-segment top dogs such as the Honda Civic and Toyota Corolla. The
seventh-generation Elantra sports
a coupe-like design and optional side-by-side instrument and
infotainment screens under a single piece of glass. The hybrid is
expected to average better than
P H O TO : H Y U N D A I
4.7 l/100 km in combined city/
highway driving. "The new Elantra is highlighted by its stance
that looks like geometric crystals and divided body surfaces
to get a strong emotional response from customers," said Luc
Donckerwolke, chief design officer for Hyundai Motor Group.

BMW PULLS THE PLUG ON ITS FIRST HYBRID
The automaker is ending production
of the i8 sports car, six years after
its introduction. The i8 was BMW's
first plug-in hybrid. The production
version was unveiled at the 2013
Frankfurt auto show and it went on
P H O TO : B MW
sale in North America in 2014. As
BMW closes the chapter on the i8, the automaker is preparing
to release several battery-powered models as part of ambitious
plans to market 25 electrified models by 2023.

HOW MUCH IS THAT E-PONY IN THE WINDOW?

Ford has priced the Mustang Mach-E electric vehicle at $52,345,
including delivery, which is too high to qualify for federal green
incentives. The base price is $50,495, before delivery and fees.
Electric vehicles eligible for up to $5,000 must have six seats or
fewer and a base-model trim with a manufacturer's suggested
retail price of less than $45,000. The car will, however, qualify for
provincial rebates in British Columbia and Quebec, where owners can receive $3,000 and $8,000, respectively.

THE BRONCO IS OUT OF THE BAG

Photos of Ford's new four-door off-roader have been leaked
online at www.broncosportforum.com. The vehicle was to be
unveiled at the New York
auto show in April, but the
event has been postponed
due to the coronavirus pandemic. Ford appears to have
tweaked the grille, swapping out "FORD" lettering for
"BRONCO." Ford, as a matter
of policy, does not comment
on future products. - ANC B R O N C O S P O RTFO R U M. C O M

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Automotive News Canada - April 2020 - v2

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