Automotive News Canada - September 2020 - v2 - 26

* S E P T E M B E R 2020

Some dealers want
Ford to return to cars
CONTINUED FROM PA GE 3

leadership to nail, Zimic said. Under Hackett, Ford
had the right vision in investing in EVs and connected vehicles, he said. It will be on Farley to execute
that vision.
Still, other dealers would like Ford to reexamine its product strategy, specifically when it comes
to cars. Terry Rafih, CEO of Rafih Auto Group in
Windsor, Ont., said Ford should consider offering
cars again that can compete with Japanese brands
such as Toyota and Honda. The automaker, Rafih
said, is needlessly ceding customers to them.
"We have people coming in looking for cars all
the time," he said. "So, they go to the Korean and
Japanese, and that's where they're buying their cars.
And they're selling."
Ford under Hackett shifted the company's focus
in North America to selling mostly crossovers, pickups and SUVs while cutting car models such as the
Focus and Taurus.
According to the Automotive News Data Centre
in Detroit, Ford sold 101,410 vehicles in Canada
during the first half of 2020, down 32 per cent from a
year earlier because of the pandemic. Still, the company remained the No. 1 automaker by new-vehicle
sales in Canada. - ANC
- Michael Martinez contributed to this report.

Staff prove they don't
need an overlord
CONTINUED FROM PA GE 3

otherwise, to have people working remotely will
make sense."
Kim Day, COO at Nova Scotia-based Steele Auto
Group, said the company's customer care centre has
shifted to permanent remote work.
"They were very successful through COVID
working from their homes, and they prefer to work
from home, so that will probably continue," she
said in an Automotive News Canada retail forum
webcast Aug. 25.
Making work-life balance available in roles that
require some on-site attendance is key to employee
retention, McSherry said. Flexible remote work and
other perks are readily available in other industries, such as technology, he said.
"Dealerships have been notorious about, 'Well, I
used to work 12 hours a day standing up at my desk
eating lunch; and you will, too,' " he said. "That's
not going to serve them well moving forward. ... If
somebody needs a half day off on Mondays because
they have a loved one they need to take care of, give
them the time they need.
"You can have individuals work from home, you
can be successful, without having to keep a watchful eye over your employees every waking minute."
- ANC

Sales hooked to a false economy
of federal support for wages
CONTINUED FROM PA GE 1

"idiosyncrasies" led to the decline,
Young said.
There were two fewer selling
days last month compared with
August 2019. And last year, Labour
Day Weekend sales, traditionally
strong, were lumped into August's
total.
DesRosiers Automotive
Consultants Inc. estimated that
165,837 vehicles were sold in
August, down from 182,040 during
the same month a year earlier.
Young called the sales rebound
this summer "unbelievable,"
although "we will probably be
looking at sales bumping around
minus five per cent for the rest of
the year.
"I don't read any negativity into
these numbers," said Young, who
now forecasts 1.6 million new-vehicle sales in 2020, up nearly 300,000
from her spring forecasts but 20
per cent down from last year's total
of about 1.92 million vehicles.

Customer loses control and
crashes into Honda store
PETERBOROUGH, ONT. -
A customer test driving a vehicle from
a dealership crashed it into the showroom building before striking half a
dozen parked vehicles.
Emergency crews were called
to Trent Valley Honda on Aug. 14.
Dealership officials and firefighters on
scene told Global News that a woman
was taking an SUV for a test-drive
when she lost control of it.
The vehicle first struck the outside wall of the showroom, then collided with half a dozen vehicles in the

REBEKAH YOUNG

Economics director of fiscal and
provincial economics, Scotiabank

makes the rebound in retail sales,
spurred by pent-up demand and
pandemic-motivated purchases, all
the more impressive.
A June survey conducted by
CarGurus found that about 50 per
cent of the users of public transFORGET FEARFUL FORECASTS
portation and ride-sharing services
Still flat sales are on the horizon planned to stop doing so for health
and safety reasons.
in light of economic fundamentals,
"We may very well be seesuch double-digit unemployment.
According to Statistics Canada, the ing this fear factor [leading to]
national jobless rate in August was Canadians now purchasing a vehicle because they don't
10.2 per cent compared
want to use other modes of
with 10.9 per cent in July
transport," Young said.
and 5.7 per cent in August,
As well, "generous gov2019.
ernment supports," such as
At the height of the panthe Canadian Emergency
demic, which shuttered
Relief Benefit, have kept a
dealerships and factories
significant decline in conacross the country, anasumer confidence at bay.
lysts forecast an annual
According to Statistics
sales decline as steep as 35
Canada, the aggregate lost
per cent.
Dicko: Auto
wages resulting from the
Oumar Dicko, chief
retailers
pandemic totaled about $20
economist at the Canadian have so far
billion during the second
Automobile Dealers
"weathered
quarter, while aggregate
Association (CADA), now the storm
payouts of all government
predicts a decline of about pretty good."
transfers and supports
15 per cent for the year.
FILE PHOTO
to households during the
"If the market stabilizquarter were about $50 billion.
es in the fall, it will be a relatively
But the strength in the sales
good result considering the situation we were in during the spring," rebound is not sustainable, said
Young. "What we've seen over the
said Dicko, adding that total sales
summer is policy-fueled rebound
could reach 1.7 million vehicles.
with lots of government transfers,
Scotiabank says fleet sales -
not to mention pent-up demand.
typically about 25 per cent of the
"Canadians likely started drawmarket - remain depressed. That

TRANS-CANADA NEWS
CONTINUED FROM PA GE 3

We may very well be
seeing this fear factor
[leading to] Canadians
now purchasing a vehicle
because they don't want
to use other modes
of transport.

side parking lot. Damage to some of the
vehicles was "extensive" and the building sustained minor damage.
No injuries were reported, and the
cause was under investigation at press
time by Peterborough OPP.
- Joe Knycha

Canada holds steady
in AI 'readiness' ranks
CALGARY - CANADA EARNED A
note in auditor KPMG's annual look at
the autonomous-vehicle (AV) sector,
through government openness to developing the technology and its strength in
artificial intelligence.
Canada ranks 12th out of 30 countries on the consulting firm's 2020 AV

Readiness Index, the same ranking as
last year. Canada topped the ratings
for government-funded AV pilot projects and industry partnerships, such
as Ontario's Autonomous Vehicle
Innovation Network. Quebec and
Ontario also gave their transport ministers authority to approve AV tests.
Canada is also noted as a leading
hub for AI development with "a talent
capability in AI, decision telematics
and lidar at a density found nowhere
else in the world," said Colin Earp,
KMPG's national transport leader and
global infratech chair. - Steve Mertl

ICBC database goes public
to increase transparency
VANCOUVER - THE INSURANCE
Corporation of British Columbia (ICBC)
has launched an expanded publicly
accessible database providing statistics

ing down on these savings over
the summer months, spurring the
strong auto sales we are seeing."
Statistics Canada said household savings rates spiked to 28 per
cent by the end of June, up from
pre-pandemic levels around two to
three per cent, mainly from a temporary pause in consumption coupled with significant government
support through programs like
the Canadian Emergency Relief
Benefit.

FOR SOME, RECORD RESULTS
Hyundai, Kia, Subaru and Volvo
all posted record August sales.
At Volvo, sales surged 25 per
cent last month, up to 1,042 compared with 830 a year earlier.
"We are executing sales and
marketing plans that we have
co-developed in close partnership
with our retailers, with quick adaptation to market conditions allowing us to present consumers with
competitive offers and compelling
campaigns," Matt Girgis, managing director of Volvo Cars Canada,
said in a statement.
Inventory shortages, however,
are plaguing dealerships as North
American assembly and parts
plants continue the tricky process
of resuming full production.
Typically, dealers offload older
models in the fall, making room for
newer ones. But according to J.D.
Power Canada, as of August, the
rate at which the new 2021 models
are filtering onto the lots is well
below where model-year 2020 was
last year and below model-year
2019 the year before.
"You would figure that due to
COVID-19, we would be accelerating model-year 2021 build and mix,
but it's not the case," said Robert
Karwel, senior manager of Power's
automotive practice in Canada.
"Which might mean that factories
are still parts-limited in building
2021s."
CADA's Dicko said that up until
now, auto retailers have "weathered the storm pretty good."
"Dealers were able to bridge the
gap during the crisis," he said, "but
there are still a lot of concerns, and
things are unclear looking at the
months to come." - ANC

in areas such as vehicle registrations
and crashes.
The Crown auto insurer, shifting next year to a no-fault system and
under fire for deep claims-related losses, said the database is intended to provide more transparency for the public.
Reached through the newsroom page
of ICBC.com, the database gives users
access to a variety of statistics including driver licensing, crash types and
contributing factors, and allows them
to customize their searches by location
and topic.
The government said the shift to a
no-fault model will result in lower premiums because of reduced litigation
costs, however critics within the B.C.
branch of the Canadian Bar Association
said most injured crash victims will
lose their right to sue. - Steve Mertl
- ANC

http://www.ICBC.com

Automotive News Canada - September 2020 - v2

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