Automotive News Canada - May 2021 - 6

* M AY 2 0 2 1

New life for live
The resumption of some auto
shows, including in Shanghai
in April, has raised hopes of
a Canada comeback for 2022

THE THIRD WAVE OF COVID-19

AUTOMOTIVE NEWS CANADA

The Shanghai auto show provides a glimpse
of what in-person auto shows might eventually
look like in Canada. The CIAS is eyeing 2022 for
a possible return. Pictured is the Xpeng Heitech
flying vehicle. P H O T O : B L O O M B E R G

automotivenews.ca

ONGOING WEB COVERAGE

By JOHN IRWIN

ORGANIZERS OF THE CANADIAN
International AutoShow (CIAS) in Toronto say
events in China and the United States are encouraging signs that consumers and automakers will
return to in-person events once the pandemic eases.
" We're still very hopeful for 2022 that we'll have
the runway for us to be able to host an event, if the
government can get the large number of people vaccinated that they're saying they will, " said CIAS
General Manager Jason Campbell.
Like most other large in-person events, auto
shows have been absent from Canada over the
past year during the COVID-19 pandemic. That has
raised questions about
what the auto show of the
future will look like, especially after some brands
began to pull out of shows
in the years leading up to
2020.
While their return in
Canada is far from imminent, shows have begun to
resurface in other parts of
the world. In China, where
COVID-19 has largely been
contained, the biannual
Campbell: " I think that Shanghai auto show was
held April 21 to 28 and
we're likely to see ...
drew 810,000 people and
eagerness to return
1,000 exhibitors, including
to live events when
global automakers, supplipublic health allows
ers and technology comit. We just have to be
panies.
ready for it when it
This year, visitors had
does. " F I L E P H O T O
to have their body temperatures measured at the entrance and present
a " health code " indicating that they had not visited places with high infection rates, according to
NikkieAsia.com, a Japan-based financial website.
As well, on-site staff and exhibitors were required to
undergo mandatory testing.
The event was able to serve as a showcase for
electric vehicles and other future products for the
world's largest auto market. Ford, for instance,
unveiled its Evos crossover, which the company
does not plan to sell in North America. Cadillac
showed the Lyriq electric crossover concept, and
Genesis unveiled an electric version of the G80
sedan.
Automakers also showcased advanced driving
technology, even sci-fi fare, such as flying cars from
startups such as China-based Xpeng.
The participation of automakers in Shanghai
indicates they still see value in using auto shows as
a way to educate consumers about EV technology,
Campbell said.
" I think that we're likely to see a similar eagerness to return to live events when public health
allows it. We just have to be ready for it when it
does. "

TRENDING
STORIES

Visitors to the Shanghai auto show had their
temperatures checked and they had to declare
they had not visited places with high infection
rates. P H O T O : B L O O M B E R G

MAKE LIVE MORE LIVELY
To reassert their lustre with automakers, shows
need to play up their essential role as experiential
marketing tools, said Chris Stommel, president of
Michigan-based Foresight Research.
" The shift to battery-electric vehicles is the obvious behemoth challenge facing the industry today, "
Stommel said in the April 21 edition of the " Daily
Drive " podcast by sibling publication Automotive
News. He cited a recent J.D. Power study that found
consumer acceptance of EVs rises dramatically once
they've had an opportunity to sit or ride in one.
" Anything that increases consumers' experience
with the product is critical, " he said, adding that
interactive events such as ride-and-drives can have
a powerful effect on model and brand decisions.
Some U.S. auto shows plan in-person events this
year, albeit in different formats.
Organizers of the North American International
Auto Show in Detroit are hosting an outdoor event
in September dubbed Motor Bella that will take
place at an 87-acre (35-hectare) site that includes a
racetrack and an off-road course. The Chicago Auto
Show announced it would hold an indoor and outdoor event July 15 to 19.
Similarly, organizers of the Twin
Cities Auto Show in Minnesota are
moving the event outside for 2021.
The show, slated to take place May
15 to 23 at the Minnesota State Fair
Grounds, will feature a track for testing trucks and EV ride-and-drives,
among other features.
Stommel:
While moving outdoors was necAuto shows
essary for health reasons, being out- need to
side will allow the show to become
stress their
more experiential, said Scott
importance
Lambert, president of the Minnesota in experiential
Automobile Dealers Association.
marketing,
" Pre-pandemic, if I came to my
particularly
board and said, 'Let's blow up our
for emerging
show at our nice convention cenareas such
tre and go outside to the State Fair
as batteryGrounds,' they would have fired
electric
me, " Lambert said on Automotive
vehicles
News' " Daily Drive " podcast in
PHOTO:
April. " And right now, my staff and
LINKEDIN
I are looking like great innovators
with all this. ... we'll see how the customers respond
and how the factories respond. "

VIRTUAL VERSION OF TORONTO SHOW UNLIKELY
Campbell said it was too soon to know the format of the 2022 Toronto auto show might look like,
assuming it happens. Show organizers have had
conversations with the Metro Toronto Convention
Centre about what they anticipate live events will
look like moving forward, he said, although the
answer remains unclear.
A virtual auto show appears unlikely, however.
CIAS organizers had planned to launch one for 2021,
but it did not materialize after many automakers
opted not to attend.
" We've now been sheltering in place for over a
year, " Campbell said. " We've experimented with trialing a virtual auto show concept and some manufacturers have gone down that road themselves. We
haven't found the consumer appetite to be superstrong with that. Obviously, we wish manufacturers
all the best with their efforts.
" But nothing will replace the touch and feel and
smell of getting behind the wheel of a new car. "
- ANC

As provinces continue to grapple with various strains of the
coronavirus, they have implemented stricter lockdowns and
stay-at-home orders, just as the spring selling season begins.

CHIP SHORTAGE WORSENS

In what has been described as " uncharted waters, " the
industry is desperately trying keep auto assembly plants
across North America running, but the lack of microchips is
causing unrecoverable lost production. It's a situation that is
likely to get worse before it gets better, the effects of which
could be felt for years.

TOP-SELLING CIVIC SEDAN GROWS UP

HONDA'S REDESIGNED SMALL CAR HAS MORE MATURE
exterior styling, a simplified interior with enhanced tech, more
premium materials at key touchpoints and drivetrain refinements.
The 2022 Civic sedan will go on
sale this summer with styling that
accentuates its sporting nature -
an elongated hood, low beltline
and door-mounted side mirrors
to improve visibility and maintain PHOTO: HONDA
clean styling, the automaker said.
The Civic has been the bestselling car in Canada for 23 consecutive years. The Civic sedan is assembled in Alliston, Ont.

EV RACE IS 'A MARATHON,' NOT A SPRINT

ELECTRIFICATION IS ACCELERATING, BUT IT WILL
happen over time, said Swamy Kotagiri,
CEO of Canadian auto parts giant Magna
International. " It's not a switch-on, switchoff type scenario, " Kotagiri said during an
Automotive News " Congress Conversations "
webcast April 29. " The key lies in how do you
develop a strategy that is modular and scalable? We always looked at it as a marathon,
Kotagiri
have the sustenance to stay in the race rather
PHOTO: MAGNA
than try to address it as a sprint. "

ULTIUM 360: GM'S WINDOW TO EV CHARGING

GENERAL MOTORS HAS PARTNERED WITH SEVEN MAJOR
charging providers to help customers locate
and pay for electric-vehicle charging through
the automaker's mobile apps. Ultium Charge
360 is a new strategy that integrates charging
networks, GM apps and other products to simplify the experience for EV owners. Customers
will be able to access real-time information from
60,000 charging plugs throughout the United
States and Canada.

SPORTY KONA N JOINS THE LINEUP

EVEN AS HYUNDAI MOTOR CO. LEANS INTO AN ELECTRIC
future with its vehicles, the company is stretching the bounds of
internal-combustion offerings. The new Kona N performance version of its popular subcompact crossover comes with a turbocharged 2.0-litre four-cylinder engine making 276 horsepower.
It's mated to a paddle-shift eight-speed automatic transmission.
Acceleration to 60 mph (96 km/h) takes less than 5.5 seconds.

HONDA PLANS END TO INTERNAL COMBUSTION
THE AUTOMAKER'S AGGRESSIVE
electrification plan - to end gasoline power
by 2040 - was unveiled April 23 by Toshihiro
Mibe, the company's new CEO. Honda will
achieve the goal in steps, first deriving 40 per
cent of its sales in major markets from electric and hydrogen-fuel-cell vehicles in 2030. It
wants that share of EVs and fuel cells to reach
80 per cent in major markets in 2035, and then
100 per cent in all markets by 2040. - ANC

FOR FULL TE
XT

Mibe

PHOTO: HONDA

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Automotive News Canada - May 2021

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