Automotive News Canada - May 2021 - 3

* M AY 2 0 2 1

SECOND FRONT

Dunn
deal

The APMA's
Project Arrow
hits engineer in
the heart: Aston
Martin exec eager
to build a 'really
good car' from
Canadian concept
VA N C O U V E R C O R R E S P O N D E N T

SOMEONE WHO BUILDS
world-famous luxury sports
cars should hardly want for
excitement.
But Fraser Dunn,
chief engineer at
England's Aston Martin
Lagonda Ltd., was looking for a fresh challenge. It came in the
form of an unlikely offer
from Canada.
In August, Dunn takes over
as chief engineer for Project Arrow,
launched last year by the Automotive
Parts Manufacturers' Association (APMA) to
showcase the capabilities of Canada's auto sector.
After initial skepticism, Dunn seized the
opportunity to create a vehicle that would be
engineered for future production.
" One of the nice things about this project is,
to be quite frank, there isn't any kind of hidden agendas other than can we build a really
good car that has got a Canadian narrative, " he
said in an interview from his home in Stratfordupon-Avon, northwest of London.
The objective, Dunn said, is to create something that people will think is cool and would
buy. And it should " be a credible competitor
with certain American and German brands. "

MOVING ON FROM SUPERCARS
Dunn, 42, has spent his entire career at Aston
Martin, in 19 years rising from a university
internship to chief engineer at the luxury and
performance carmaker.
It was while working on Aston Martin's
Valkyrie hypercar project, led by Formula
One engineer Adrian Newey, that Dunn met
Marcello Grassi, a materials specialist whose
resume includes work with supercar maker
McLaren.
He and Grassi became friends. Grassi now
chairs the advisory board of Project Arrow,
whose name echoes Canada's groundbreaking
but doomed Avro Arrow jet fighter of the 1950s.

The industry
seeks 'light at
the end of the
tunnel' - but it's
long and dark
By GREG LAYSON

NEW-VEHICLE DEALERS
across Canada are fearing the coming
months as supply woes continue to worsen, making it tough to predict the sales trajectory for
the rest of the year.
Lack of inventory continues to be top of mind as
the global microchip shortage continues to kink supply chains.
" This challenge will get
a little more difficult before
it gets better, and Q2 will
be a little more challenging
than Q1, " General Motors
Canada President Scott
Bell warned on the May 7
Automotive News' " Canada
Conversations " podcast.
Dealers " are fearful
for where this will go in
the short term, " Bell said.
" We're trying to give them
the confidence that we have
teams working to make it
as good as we can in the
near term. And there is
some light at the end of the
tunnel. "
A recent survey by the
Canadian Automobile
Dealers' Association indicates dealers share Bell's
sentiment. Eighty-seven
per cent of 535 dealers sur-

veyed think the inventory
shortage will last at least
six months.
That lack of stock
remains the elephant in
nearly every showroom,
coast to coast. It's pushing
up profits and changing the
way dealers are accommodating customers who are
eager to spend.

'AMAZING' RESILIENCE
Robert Karwel, senior
manager of the
J.D. Power automotive practice
in Canada, said
Canadians spent $5.2 billion
on new vehicles in March
alone. April figures weren't
available at press time.
It was
the most
Canadians
had spent
on new
vehicles
in a single month
since the
COVID-19
pandemic
took hold
Bell: GM is
more than
focused on
a year
delivering
ago.
to dealers
" The
" highdemand,
amazhigh-profit "
ing thing
vehicles such has been
as full-size
the resilpickups.
ience of
FILE PHOTO
Canadian
consumers and Canadian new-vehicle buyers, " Karwel said.
" Canadians appear to be in
a buying mood. "

SALES ANALYSIS

Project Arrow's goal
is to develop a zero-emission
battery-electric concept that could
be built in volume. P H O T O : A P M A

" He kind of sounded me out on it, " Dunn
said. " To begin with, I thought, I don't know, it
wasn't expected, it was sort of left field. "
Dunn's time at Aston Martin has been interspersed with stints working on special projects
such as the Williams-Jaguar C-X75, the Alset
hydrogen-powered race car and stunt cars for
the latest James Bond film. The idea of another
megabuck supercar faded, and Project Arrow's
vision intrigued him.
" One of the things that's becoming quite
apparent in the automotive environment is that
everyone needs to start taking the environmental responsibility seriously, " he said.
Project Arrow's goal is to develop a relatively affordable zero-emission battery-electric concept vehicle capable of volume production. It's
scheduled to debut digitally this year and in the
metal form in 2022, followed by a tour of industry events.
" If you were then to take this to production,
you would need at least another two years, "
Dunn said.

MAKE THE DREAM DRIVABLE
APMA President Flavio Volpe said that a
request for proposals from suppliers generated
about 300 submissions. Of that number,

TRANS-CANADA NEWS

SEE DUNN PAGE 23

Quebec dealership group HGreg has
planted about 2,000 trees in support
of wildlife habitat. P H O T O : H G R E G O I R E

ious local tree species, " said Harry
Kasparian, HGreg chief marketing
officer, and will be under the care
of the Outaouais Private Forests

SEE SALES PAGE 9

CORRECTION
A story on Page 6 in the April issue read that California

Volvo dealers have filed a lawsuit against the automaker over EV online sales. In fact, the California New
Car Dealers Association has filed a petition against
Care by Volvo.

5,000 KILOMETRES OF STORIES

Dealer-funded forest will
provide local wildlife habitat
SAINT-EUSTACHE, QUE. -
Suburban Montreal dealership group
HGreg has launched its fifth annual
" Buy a Car, Plant a Tree " campaign
in collaboration with Tree Canada.
To mark Earth Day - which was
April 22 - HGreg will plant a tree
for every car it sells between April
22 and May 22. More than 2,000 trees
have been planted to date through
the group's four previous Earth Day
campaigns.
The campaign will contribute to
the creation of " a new forest of var-

Inventory is on
everyone's mind
D I G I TA L A N D M O B I L E E D I T O R

By STEVE MERTL

05.21

Agency in Wakefield, Que., 230
kilometres west of Montreal, near
Ottawa.
Eventually, the forest will provide wildlife habitat for local species, reduce the risk of flooding in the
region and ultimately contribute to
the fight against climate change.
" We believe that it's our duty to
get involved and support causes ...
such as the environment and air quality, " said Kasparian. " We will continue to support these preservation initiatives. "
HGreg aims to plant 3,000 trees
this year, he said. - Joe Knycha

Purchase locks the block
for Alberta dealership group
CALGARY - MCMANES AUTO
Group has added
its first Ford store
with the purchase of
Calgary's Marlborough
Ford.
The purchase gives
Jim McManes ownership of an entire block
of valuable real estate. Jim
It brings the
McManes
McManes Auto Group S U P P L I E D
PHOTO
to 20 dealerships in
three western provinces, joining 10 Chrysler-Dodge-Ram-

SEE TRANS-CANADA PAGE 15

Automotive News Canada - May 2021

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