Automotive News Canada - July 2021 - 30

30
* JULY 2021
2035: A lot to do in 14 years, but no map
CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1
in Canada produce zero emissions.
In a joint statement, the ministers
pledged to " pursue a
combination of investments
and regulations
to help Canadians and
industry transition to
achieve the 100-per-cent
zero-emission-vehicle
sales by 2035. "
EVs made up about
3.5 per cent of vehicle
registrations in
the country last year,
according to Statistics
Canada.
A MANDATE? THEN HOW?
Adams said it was unclear whether
Ottawa plans to introduce a ZEV mandate,
which would essentially turn the
2035 goal into law.
" Is this a regulated commitment? "
he said. " If so, how do
we get there? "
The new timeline signals
Ottawa's intention
to introduce a legislated
ZEV mandate, said
Daniel Breton, president
of Electric Mobility
Canada, a nonprofit
organization that backs
EV adoption.
" The devil is in the
details, " Breton said,
but federal officials plan
consultations in the fall,
and a mandate will be
on the agenda.
Alghabra:
100 per cent
EVs by 2035
- not 2040.
GOVERNMENT
OF CANADA
Transitioning to 100 per cent zero-emission
vehicle sales by 2035 is not just about
making the cars. Charging infrastructure -
including a possible power-grid upgrade -
would need to be part of any plan.
PHOTO: ISTOCK
The lack of sufficient high-speed
charging infrastructure must be
addressed to ease concerns such as
range anxiety, said Brian Kingston,
president of the Canadian Vehicle
Manufacturers' Association.
" Consumers are going to demand
convenience, " Kingston said. Public
charging - particularly for those who
lack driveways or garages to install
chargers - is critical, he said.
The International Energy
Association has estimated that a country
needs at least one public charging
station for every 10 electric vehicles.
INFRASTRUCTURE URGENCY
Breton:
New 2035
due date
suggests
a ZEV
mandate is
coming.
FILE PHOTO
A federal government spokeswoman
said the details of implementation,
" whether through legislation or administrative
action, will be subject to consultations
over the coming months. "
It is not known how such a mandate
would overlap with provincial
mandates already in place in Quebec,
which has targeted 2035, and British
Columbia, which has targeted 2040.
The next 14 years will go by quickly,
Kingston said, and the timelines for
some of the needed infrastructure are
measured in decades, not years. That
infrastructure isn't just charging stations
but having the electrical generation
capacity to operate them.
A U.S. study found that to achieve
a 90-per-cent EV fleet, utilities would
have to increase generating capacity
41 per cent, Kingston said. Building a
generating station, particularly the relatively
cleaner hydroelectric station,
takes years just to get approval.
For example, Manitoba's Keeyask
Generating Station was conceived in
the 2000s, broke ground in 2014 and
isn't expected to go online until later
this year.
As automakers place added emphasis
on the ethical sourcing of the base
TRANS-CANADA NEWS 5,000 KILOMETRES OF STORIES
CONTINUED FROM PAGE 3
Switching to an electric
vehicle from internal combustion
" is becoming an increasingly
real option " for consumers,
Coady said. The
Newfoundland and Labrador
rebate will be in addition to
the $5,000 refund offered to all
Canadians through the federal
government EV rebate program.
In
July, New Brunswick
announced a rebate program,
which means all four Atlantic
Canada provinces offer provincial
incentives. - Joe Knycha
Shift to electric fuel cell
buses lifts manufacturer
WINNIPEG - CALIFORNIA
customers are turning to bus
maker NFI Group of Winnipeg
as cities begin to switch to
zero-emission mass-transit
fleets.
AC Transit, one of the
United States' largest bus-only
systems delivering more
than 52 million rides a year
in the San Francisco Bay
materials, Adams said, Canada has an
opportunity to be at the forefront of the
EV industry.
" I think we're probably well-positioned
to do that, to a certain extent, "
he said. " I'm hopeful we'll get to the
stage where there's processing capacity,
an actual battery factory that is
utilizing elements that have been processed
from Canadian feedstocks. "
BUILD BATTERY JOBS
Unifor National President Jerry
Dias, whose union represents hourly
workers of the Detroit Three in Canada,
said that with the country's supply of
the base minerals for EV batteries -
nickel, zinc, cobalt, lithium and manganese
- the potential for job creation
to support a shift to zero emissions is
huge.
However, Dias is concerned that
the government is going to fall back
on Canada's reputation as " hewers of
wood and drawers of water " and let
other countries reap the rewards of value-added
processing of those minerals.
" Is the government ready to grow a
spine on trade, or are we also going to
ship these natural resources offshore
and then buy them back as batteries? "
he said.
A spokeswoman for Natural
Resources Canada said the country
is one of two in the Global Batteries
Alliance working to eliminate child and
slave labour in the cobalt supply chain.
In its 2021 budget, the alliance set aside
subsidiary New Flyer of
America Inc. as a top-scoring
" approved supplier " in
2019. Since 1980, NFI has
delivered 740 buses to AC
transit, said Paul Soubry,
CEO. - Joe Knycha
AC Transit in California has
ordered 30 hydrogen fuel cell
buses through NFI Group
subsidiary, New Flyer of
America. PHOTO: NFI GROUP
Area, ordered an additional
20 New Flyer heavy-duty fuelcell
hydrogen-electric buses in
June, on top of 10 ordered in
2020.
NFI has more than 9,000
employees in 10 countries and
says it has " installed " more
than 105,000 buses in North
America and around the
world under the brands New
Flyer, MCI, Alexander Dennis
Limited, Plaxton and ARBOC
Specialty Vehicles.
California's State
Cooperative Procurement
office approved NFI Group
Dealerships swap
stores for right size
SALABERRY-DEVALLEYFIELD,
QUE.
- Two retailers in this
southwestern Quebec city
recently
traded locations
so both
could, literally,
achieve
a better fit.
The
Régate Kia
Valleyfield
and
Mitsubishi
Charland
SUPPLIED
PHOTO
Valleyfield dealerships
made their respective physical
moves in late June.
The exercise will allow
the Kia dealership, which
sells more than 500 vehicles
per year, to occupy
a larger space at the former
Mitsubishi location
on Monseigneur Langlois
Boulevard.
For the Mitsubishi
Valleyfield dealership,
whose annual vehicle sales
total about 350, the former
Kia space located on
the same street provides a
more appropriately-sized
facility for its operations.
Steve Charland, general
manager of Régate Kia
Valleyfield, will also oversee
the Mitsubishi dealership.
- Benoit Charette
Retailers join forces
for local food banks
STEINBACH, MAN. -
The five dealerships in
this prairie city 65 kilometres
southeast of
Winnipeg, have created a
long-standing destination
location for vehicle shoppers
across Manitoba and
Northwestern Ontario.
They have also banded
together to raise money for
multiple charities and services
in their community
and throughout the province.
For
the latest campaign,
each dealer will donate
$100 to the Steinbach
Nothing about the government's
announcement was a surprise.
Nor is it a surprise the plan
has yet to be written.
FLAVIO VOLPE
President, APMA
$9.6 million over three years to create a
Critical Minerals Centre of Excellence,
with an overall goal of stimulating the
development of critical-mineral supply
chains in Canada.
The spokeswoman said the government's
strategy, titled Mines to
Mobility, is designed to make Canada a
global leader in the ethical
production of batteries
and other clean technologies.
Dias:
Canada
has
raw
materials
to build
batteries
and jobs, if
government
will " grow
a spine on
trade. "
SUPPLIED
PHOTO
" Budget 2021 also
provides $47.7 million
over three years, starting
in 2021-22, for federal
research and development
to advance critical
battery mineral processing
and refining expertise, "
she said.
Flavio Volpe, president
of the Automotive
Parts Manufacturers'
Association (APMA),
said " there's a long
shadow between intent
and execution, " but the
government's accelerated
ZEV timeline was expected.
" Nothing about the government's
announcement was a surprise, " Volpe
said. " Nor is it a surprise the plan has
yet to be written.
" We look forward to writing it
together. " - ANC
- With files from Grace Macaluso
Helping Hands Food Bank
for each new or used car it
sells.
" We will also donate
to Winnipeg Harvest
[food bank], because
we get a lot of customers
out of Winnipeg, "
Kent Ledingham, dealer
principal of Ledingham
Chevrolet-Buick-GMC, told
SteinbachOnline.com.
Ledingham's dealership,
along with Autocity Mazda,
Fairway
Ford,
Harvest
Honda and
Steinbach
Dodge,
Ledingham
PHOTO:
LEDINGHNAM
CHEVROLETBUICK-GMC
" want
to support
where
our customers
are ...
both local
customers
in Steinbach
and people in Winnipeg as
well. "
In the continuing course
of the COVID-19 pandemic,
" there are people in need
in both places, " Ledingham
said. - Joe Knycha
- ANC
http://www.SteinbachOnline.com
Automotive News Canada - July 2021

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