Automotive News Canada - August 2020 - v2 - 23

* AUGUST 2020

Pandemic accelerates
release of online tools
Connecting sales
staff to consumers
at home is
'paramount'
By JOHN IRWIN

AUTOMOTIVE NEWS CANADA

TECHNOLOGY

SPOTLIGHT
no marketing and with limited usage; six dealerships had
signed up for the platform as of
late July. But Thompson said
that's intentional as the company determines what works
and what doesn't, and he
expects those figures to grow
as the company plans to boost
marketing and expand to other
Ontario markets as well as
Michigan.

TECHNOLOGY STARTUPS
and vendors that accelerated
the rollout of new vehicle-sales
products during COVID-19 are
betting that shoppers will have
little interest in buying vehicles the old way anytime soon.
"People are reluctant to
SEAMLESS COMMUNICATION
go anywhere in person," said
Jesse Thompson, CEO of the
Established companies
digital sales platform Fetch
have also taken their offerings
Moto. "I think that even
to market early. Rapid RTC, a
after the pandemic is done
provider of lead-management
this is going to be a consumsoftware based in Winnipeg,
er behaviour that will stick
earlier this year unveiled its
around quite a bit."
Live Dealer product,
The pandemic has
which allows a salesforced many dealers to
person to talk remoteaccelerate their adoply with a potential
tion of digital technolobuyer over video after
gy as many consumers
connecting with them
choose to stay home.
via a chat tool on a
While in-person dealercompany's website.
ship activity has picked Thompson:
Among other features,
up in the summer folBrought
the tool allows the
lowing a spring marked Fetch Moto
salesperson to seamby economic shutto market
lessly switch the cusdowns and closed show- about a
tomer's view on their
month ahead device to the salesperrooms, many dealers
of schedule.
are still scrambling to
son's desktop screen,
adopt new technologies P H O T O
allowing the dealer to
VIA JESSE
to facilitate shopping
walk through much of
THOMPSON
from home.
the sales process with
"We keep hearing 'accelthe customer in real time.
erated change,'" said Tim
"We really fast-tracked it
Reuss, CEO of the Canadian
once we saw COVID coming
Automobile Dealers
online and realizing that conAssociation (CADA). "Things
necting salespeople to custhat were happening before ...
tomers was going to be parwhen it comes to digital proamount," said CEO Glen
cesses, that's being accelerDemetrioff. "We had the vision
ated. That's not going to go
ahead of time to know where
away."
we thought the market was
going to go, but this just helped
RELEVANT, RIGHT NOW
accelerate that."
To meet that demand,
In July, Subaru Canada and
numerous companies have
Toyota Canada added the Live
rolled out new technologies,
Dealer capabilities to their
often entering the market
websites.
sooner than planned. Fetch
"The situation with COVID
Moto launched in the Windsor, certainly expedited things,"
Ont., market about a month
said Joe Felstein, Subaru
ahead of schedule in June, said Canada senior director of cusThompson.
tomer experience. "Nobody
"We are a tool that's pretwants to put themselves or othty relevant right now, so we
ers in jeopardy or danger, and
wanted to get out there as fast
yet they still need vehicles. So,
as possible," Thompson said.
this works out quite well."
Fetch Moto allows car shopAutomakers and dealers
pers to list features, ranging
are adopting new technolofrom price to segment to trim
gies even as showroom trafoptions, that they are looking
fic begins to rebound. A study
for in a vehicle. The list of feaof foot traffic at 750 Ontario
tures will then be sent to dealdealerships commissioned by
ers, who return with an offer
Trader Corp. found that those
for the customer on a vehicle
stores saw 56 per cent more
that fits that description. The
unique visitors in June than
customer then chooses which
in May.
of those vehicles they would
Subaru Canada sales were
like to purchase.
up 10 per cent from a year ear"The goal is for a customlier in July.
er to do basically nothing else
"I can't say I can attribute
but to tell it what is that they
an extra 10 per cent in sales
want, and to choose the com[to Live Dealer], but it contribpetitive offer that they find
utes to the confidence custommost appealing to them, and
ers have in having that extra
then our systems will handle
level of communication before
the rest," Thompson said.
going in and making the sale,"
Fetch Moto launched with
Felstein said. - ANC

10% luxury levy in limbo?
Whether the federal
government intends to put it
in place, 'Now's not the time
to be thinking about new taxes'

CADA has lobbied against the proposal ever
since, arguing that the tax would be "similar to
imposing tariffs" and would reduce sales and ultimately lead to less tax revenue for the government. The proposal had yet to become law by the
time the pandemic took hold in Canada, at which
point the government's priorities shifted to containing the spread of the coronavirus and limiting
By JOHN IRWIN
AUTOMOTIVE NEWS CANADA
the economic fallout.
"There might be a bigger push for [the luxury
tax] now because the government is pressed for
AS THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT STARES
revenue," auto analyst Dennis DesRosiers said.
down a deficit projected to be 10 times larger than
"We don't know how big the deficits will be, but
what was forecast before the COVID-19 pandemthey'll be the biggest deficits in the history of the
ic, the Canadian Automobile Dealers Association
world, and they'll be out looking for tax dollars."
(CADA) is lobbying policymakers against impleSuch a luxury tax would likely depress sales of
menting any new taxes.
new luxury vehicles, already under strain
"As much as there's an understanding
during the pandemic's economic fallthat somehow a lot of the current expenout, DesRosiers said. The tax would raise
ditures will have to be financed, the introuncertainty for luxury buyers, particularduction of new taxes right now would
ly those who are on the fringe of being able
be very counterproductive in whatevto afford a higher-end vehicle, he said.
er shape or form those might be," CADA
"It couldn't be a worse time for the marCEO Tim Reuss said. "That's a message
ket to introduce a premium luxury tax
that we're trying to get across as the gov- Pfaff: The
now," DesRosiers said.
government
ernment, rightfully so, discusses how to
Christopher Pfaff, CEO of Pfaff
needs to
make the public finances whole again
Automotive Partners, said the move
be "smart"
over time. But now's not the time to be
would cut into revenue as many customabout
thinking about new taxes."
ers choose to not buy a high-end vehicle
taxation to
According to an "economic and fiscal
or import one from outside the country.
snapshot" given by Finance Minister Bill deal with
Pfaff owns several luxury dealerships in
deficits.
Morneau on July 8, the federal governOntario and British Columbia.
ment expects to run a deficit of $343.2 bil- F I L E P H O T O
"You need to be smart about how you
lion for 2020-21, compared with a projecttax and try to rein in these deficits we're
ed $34.4-billion before the pandemic, according to
accumulating," he said.
CBC News. Much of that rise is a result of about
It did not appear such a tax was imminent.
$212 billion in spending on economic support
Speaking at the CBC town hall earlier this year,
measures, in addition to about $81 billion attribut- Morneau said the federal government was not
ed to the pandemic's impact on economic activity. considering raising GST or other taxes. Instead,
Federal revenue was expected to decline from
it was focused on "preserving our economy for
a projected $341 billion in 2019-20 to $268.8 billion
the future, making sure that we can get back to a
in 2020-21, Morneau said, as individual and corvibrant place."
porate income tax revenue declines. That will put
"We know that we are going to need to face up
pressure on the federal government to find ways
to those challenges. We also recognize that raising
to address a ballooning deficit while also continutaxes is not what Canadians want us to do."
ing to spend in an effort to prevent the most dire
Reuss said he does not believe the federal goveconomic and health scenarios from unfolding.
ernment's stance has changed since then, even as
Dealers have long fretted about the sales
it continues to lobby lawmakers on the issue.
impact of increased taxes, particularly a federal
"I don't think it's necessarily shifted. We're
tax on high-end luxury vehicles that was includjust making sure that there's an understanding
ed in the Liberal Party's 2019 platform. The tax
that it would be extremely counterproductive
would levy a 10-per-cent tax on vehicles, boats and right now to introduce any type of new taxes,"
aircraft valued above $100,000.
he said. - ANC

Automotive News Canada - August 2020 - v2

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