Automotive News Canada - December 2020 - v2 - 20

2020ALL

* D E C E M B E R 2 020

IT WAS A YEAR OF EXTRAORDINARY
challenge for Canada's auto industry,
much of it formed by the pandemic that
has taken thousands of lives, rocked the
economy and stripped many people of
their livelihoods.

But 2020 was also a year of remarkable accomplishment, as chronicled in Automotive News
Canada's annual All-Stars salute to outstanding
achievement and contribution across the sector. In
the fight against COVID-19 and in efforts to secure
Canada's future in a fast-evolving transportation
world, the industry stepped up.
Nowhere were the stakes higher than the pandemic battle, in which the contribution of the parts industry
was crucial. With a world desperate for protective gear

STARS

and respirators and few domestic sources, dozens of
Canadian suppliers converted their assembly lines to
keep hospitals equipped.
Joining the cause were the big automakers. Ford
began making face shields in Windsor, Ont., and
General Motors converted part of its Oshawa works
to produce a million masks a month. Fiat Chrysler
donated face masks it was able to source overseas.
Meantime, the Canadian offices of other car
companies as well as dealers across the country offered their own support for front-line workers,
plus cash and cars for food banks struggling with a
surge in demand.
Notable too were the efforts to keep car retailers open. The Canadian Automobile Dealers
Association successfully argued that dealerships
are essential services, and Quebec's dealer body
produced an exhaustive health and safety plan for

reopening service departments that became part of
a national guide.
Others - companies and individuals - were AllStars for keeping their focus in a tumultuous year.
With the help of the federal and Ontario governments, major investments were announced that
will revive vehicle assembly at GM's Oshawa plant
and will put Canada at the forefront of an industry
embracing electric vehicles and autonomous driving. New labour contracts were signed with the
Detroit Three automakers in Canada, protecting jobs
and adding measures to combat racism - another
key issue in 2020.
There aren't enough pages in this issue to recognize all the All-Stars who went to extraordinary lengths in 2020, however Automotive News
Canada is pleased to recognize a handful who led
the way. - ANC

DIVERSIFICATION LEADER

LINDA HASENFRATZ
CEO, LINAMAR CORP.

THE END OF AN ERA

DON WALKER
OUTGOING CEO,
MAGNA INTERNATIONAL

on Walker's final year as CEO of Magna
International Inc., the world's third-largest
auto supplier, was about as eventful as it could
get.
Like the rest of the industry, the Aurora,
Ont., supplier has grappled with a historic pandemic, one that shut down auto manufacturing in North America for two months and hammered its bottom line. It posted a $647-million
loss in the second quarter.
But under Walker's leadership, the supplier powered through the dark months of the
spring and emerged in the third quarter with a
net income of $405 million, thanks to cost-saving initiatives, restructuring programs and a
somewhat resilient North American new-vehicle market.
At the same time, the company has expanded its reach into advanced technology and contract assembly, including by inking a deal with
electric carmaker Fisker to build the Ocean
utility vehicle.
For Walker, 64, it's the culmination of a
33-year career at Magna helping to build the
supplier into a global parts giant. Now a giant
in the industry himself, Walker plans to retire
at year's end.

nyone familiar with Linda Hasenfratz's track record
would approve of her appointment to a panel overseeing the rollout of the coronavirus vaccine in Ontario.
The longtime CEO of auto supplier Linamar Corp.,
headquartered in Guelph, Ont., and with factories
around the world, lives logistics. And loves speed. (Ask
her about her first car, a cherry red Dodge Daytona.)
Hasenfratz's biggest strength, however, could be
her willingness to enter new territory. That has driven Linamar's embrace of technology and diversification into such sectors as agriculture and energy, both of
which have helped it weather the COVID-19 storm and
double the earnings expectations of analysts.
" Don't be afraid to take a risk, " the 54-year-old once
offered in advice aimed at women in business but applicable to so much else.
In light of a vaccine that can't come too soon and a
distribution process being formed on the fly, Ontario
picked someone who consistently delivers.

BREAKTHROUGH RETAIL MODEL

SHAHIN
ALIZADEH
CEO, DOWNTOWN
AUTO GROUP

s land prices in Canada's
urban centres climb ever
higher, building dealerships
convenient for today's consumers is a growing challenge. Shahin Alizadeh, CEO of
Toronto-based Downtown Auto
Group, decided to address the problem not by building outward, but by
building upward.
The group's Autoplex development, to
be completed in the spring, sets five multi-floor

dealerships below residential condominiums in a mixed-use complex near downtown
Toronto.
Consolidating into one five-acre
(two-hectare) plot allows the new
stores to be built for nearly 50 per
cent less than it would cost to create separate facilities. The move
also consolidates operating costs
through shared staff and underground service facilities.
With more urban residents
purchasing their own vehicles
for ease of physical distancing
during COVID-19, Alizadeh said
the Autoplex is ideally suited for
the post-pandemic reality.
" Our plans actually ended up
being exactly right for the circumstances where we find ourselves. What
we're hoping to do is create a destination so that people, rather than sitting at a
laptop, can actually go and look at a half-dozen
different brands. "

Automotive News Canada - December 2020 - v2

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