Automotive News Canada - August 2020 - 6

* AUGUST 2020

Plugging away
in a pandemic

TRENDING
STORIES
automotivenews.ca

ONGOING WEB COVERAGE

PANDEMIC PAIN

As the COVID-19 health crisis drags on, automaker after
automaker continues to report sinking earnings.

TARIFF SPAT

U.S. President Donald Trump on Aug. 7 slapped a 10-percent tariff on Canadian aluminum. Canada retaliated the
next day with tariffs on select U.S. goods. Negotiators
were set to iron out their differences over the coming
weeks and months.

Plug'n Drive educates buyers on electric-vehicle
choices, without a sales pitch. It was closed for three months
during the pandemic and now operates by appointment only.
PHOTO: PLUG'N DRIVE

Workarounds keep
EV test drives rolling,
and a cross-Canada
traveling road show
is being readied
By PERRY LEFKO

TORONTO CORRESPONDENT

COVID-19 HAS NOT ONLY
slammed the brakes on the sale
of electric vehicles, it's also hampering the efforts of Canada's
first EV discovery centre to win
over the public.
Plug'n Drive CEO Cara
Clairman said
plans for a second EV discovery centre in British
Columbia have
been put on
hold due to the
pandemic. Still
in the works,
however, is
Clairman: "It's
the launch
always helpful
of a trailfor people to
er that will
see charging
travel across
stations out
the country,
there. We just
starting in
feel the market
September, to
is totally ready
raise awarefor B.C."
ness about
FILE PHOTO
the benefits of
EVs, Clairman said.
The program, called Mobile
EV Education Trailer (MEET),
will be a cross between the discovery centre in North York,
Ont., and a road show. Plug'n
Drive already travels across
the country promoting EVs, but
MEET's tour goes further. It
will start in Ottawa and move to
another city every two to three
months.
Plug'n Drive - a publicly and
privately funded nonprofit that
encourages the use of EVs -
opened its Toronto-based centre
in May 2017. It offers consumers
an opportunity to learn about
and test drive vehicles without
the sales pitch.
Spreading the word about
EVs is even more critical in the
wake of statistics showing that
sales of zero-emission vehicles
(ZEVs) plunged 50 per cent in

COVID-19
the second quarter compared
with the same period last year,
said Daniel Breton, president of
Electric Mobility Canada.
"I don't think EV sales have
been more affected than [gasoline]-powered vehicles; it has
been a disaster all over. But
at a time when gas prices are
low, it's obvious it's even more
important to talk about the benefits of EVs, and getting people to
try them."
The overall market in the
second quarter fell 45 per cent,
according to the Automotive
News Data Center. But Breton
said tight inventory has also
contributed to the down market.
According to statistics compiled by Electric Mobility
Canada, ZEV sales totaled 9,069
in the second quarter, slicing
market share to 2.9 per cent from
3.4 per cent in the same period
of 2019.

KNOWLEDGE THAT TRAVELS

PREMIUM DEBUTS ARE ON TRACK

People still get that
opportunity to
test drive, which we
know is key to buying
decisions to keep
things moving during
this time.
CARA CLAIRMAN

CEO of Plug'n Drive
already has numerous charging
stations operating.
"It's always helpful for people to see charging stations out
there," Clairman said.
Plug'n Drive is also examining opening a centre in Quebec,
which has been at the forefront
of encouraging EV sales with a
provincial rebate incentive program of up to $8,000 per vehicle
in addition to the $5,000 federal
rebate. Quebec now accounts for
75,000 of 168,000 electric
vehicles in Canada.
"They probably need
us a little bit less than
some other places,"
Clairman said.

Clairman said the MEET program will help promote
the segment in smaller
cities "where you can't
really justify an investment in bricks and mortar. Having the trailer is
like having an enhanceBY APPOINTMENT ONLY
ment of the educationAfter a three-month
al ability. You can look
shutdown during the
inside and learn. There's
pandemic, Plug'n Drive
just a lot more ability to Breton:
Raising public
reopened its North
spend time."
awareness
York centre in June and
The program is partabout the
began offering one-hour
ly funded by Natural
benefits of EVs appointment-only visits
Resources Canada.
is critical in the three times a week.
Although the plan
face of low fuel
The centre has been
to open the B.C. operprices.
booked solid, Clairman
ation is on hold, it
FILE PHOTO
said.
has been part of the
"We have been
long-term strategy of
encouraged by the response.
Plug'n Drive. It comes just as
People still get that opportunity
Electrify Canada, a partnerto test drive, which we know is
ship between Electrify America
key to buying decisions to keep
and Volkswagen Group Canada,
things moving during this time.
plans to install nine EV charging
We're definitely affected because
stations in B.C. by the end of the
we can't have a bigger event, but
year. The first opened in May.
we're doing what we can to proElectrify Canada opened its
vide alternative ways of educatfirst station in Canada in the
ing people." - ANC
Toronto area last fall. BC Hydro

Genesis Canada said in late July that the launches of the GV80
crossover and the redesigned G80 sedan won't be delayed
because of the COVID-19 pandemic. A spokesman said that while the
plan had always been to begin sales
"in the second half of this year," the
company had firmed up that timeline. "We fully expect deliveries of
PHOTO: GENESIS
both vehicles to start this fall," Jarred
Pellat said. The midsize GV80 starts at $64,500, including destination charges.

CROSSOVER TO GET FUELCELL VARIANT

BMW plans a version of the X5 that runs on hydrogen, part of the
automaker's plan to produce as many
drive variants as possible until one technology proves dominant. Hydrogen
"could have the potential to become
another pillar in the portfolio of BMW,"
CEO Oliver Zipse said. The X5 was
PHOTO: BMW
BMW's second-bestselling vehicle in
Canada in 2019 (6,630 units), up two per cent, and one of just
four BMW vehicles to post a sales increase last year.

REDESIGN LEANS ON NISSAN PARTNERSHIP

A new generation of Mitsubishi's flagship Outlander crossover
will debut in early 2021 on a platform shared with the redesigned
Nissan Rogue. The Outlander plug-in
hybrid will be a "mechanically revised
version," the automaker said. The
fourth-generation Outlander is highly anticipated by Mitsubishi dealers to
inject some fresh blood into the brand
by leveraging its alliance with Nissan
P H O TO : MI TS U B I S H I
Motor Co., which has deeper pockets
for vehicle development despite its own sales challenges. The
current Outlander debuted for the 2014 model year and is typically Mitsubishi's bestselling model. Mitsubishi also said it will
freshen the Eclipse Cross small crossover and Mirage economy
car early next year.

SEVEN ELECTRIC MOTORS FOR 1,400 HP

Ford unwrapped a one-off racing prototype called the Mustang Mach-E 1400,
featuring seven motors and 1,400 peak
horsepower. The vehicle is not intended for production. Ford plans to use the
Mach-E 1400 as an example of what an
electric vehicle can do on the track as it
P H O TO : FO R D
tries to build excitement for the launch
of the Mach-E crossover this year.

PRODUCTION SHIFT HITS PARTS SUPPLIERS

Mercedes-Benz is moving production of the A-Class compact
sedan out of Mexico to its plant in Rastatt, Germany. In a communication with suppliers in August, obtained by sibling publication
Automotive News, Daimler said: "The current dynamic development of the automotive market under the influence of the pandemic requires constant monitoring and adjustment of production strategies. Therefore, we have decided to focus on the X247 [GLB]
project at COMPAS and discontinue the V177 [A-Class] production in Mexico." Flavio Volpe, head of the Canadian Automotive
Parts Manufacturers' Association, said the decision will affect
Canadian companies to some extent, "but volumes are low."

- ANC

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Automotive News Canada - August 2020

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Automotive News Canada - August 2020