Automotive News Canada - January 2022 - 18

18
* JANUARY 2022
TRANS-CANADA NEWS 5,000 KILOMETRES OF STORIES
CONTINUED FROM PAGE 3
take delivery of truck No. 1 in
January: a white 2022 HD High
Country model with exclusive
" VIN 001 " graphic livery.
The return of truck assembly
brings with it 1,800 factory jobs
plus thousands more at Canadian
suppliers. Oshawa Assembly
ended vehicle production in late
2019, but was brought back to life
in 2021 to build the Silverado.
The versatile plant was refurbished
in record time and is
among the most advanced of its
kind, GM Canada said in a statement.
Delivery of the trucks to
dealerships began this month. -
Benoit Charette
Next-gen single-seat Solo
EV gets ready for the road
VANCOUVER-BASED
ElectraMeccanica Vehicles Corp.
(EM) said in December it is conducting
validation testing for
the next version of the Solo single-seat
electric vehicle.
The 2023-model-year Solo will
be produced at EM's Mesa, Ariz.,
assembly plant, which is under
construction and the Canadian
company expects to have units
available for delivery to U.S. customers
in late 2022.
The current Solo, priced at
US $18,500, is built at a plant in
China. EM does not sell the Solo
in Canada.
CEO Kevin Pavlov said the
testing, under way in Michigan,
will help EM finalize the
next-generation Solo's engineering
and design. - Steve Mertl
The next-generation Solo electric commuter car will be built
at a new plant in Mesa, Ariz., in 2022. FILE PHOTO
Trade-show cancellation
weighs on charity
THE CALGARY MOTOR
Dealers Association (CMDA)
says it will step up fundraising
efforts that had to be
shelved because of the cancellation
of the city's auto show.
The event, slated to run
in March, fell victim to the
COVID-19 pandemic for a second
year.
" We've cancelled, " said Jim
Gillespie, CMDA executive
director. " We've got no choice
because with Vancouver and
Edmonton [auto shows] also
cancelled, manufacturers can't
come out here for a single
event. It's too expensive. "
Gillespie said the other
shows had to make their decisions
now before signing contracts
with suppliers and venues
" which would have been
extremely costly if contracts
had been signed. "
The Calgary show " had 25
automakers confirmed " to participate,
he said.
MARCH 10 * LAS VEGAS
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THE CAN'T-MISS DEALER EVENT
OF THE YEAR RETURNS MARCH 10
REGISTER BY JANUARY 31 AND SAVE $100!
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For sponsorship inquiries, contact Ellen Dennehy at
edennehy@autonews.com or 313-446-6039
At the recent CMDA annual
meeting, Kid Sport Calgary
- one of 177 chapters across
Canada that assists underprivileged
youths with registration
fees and equipment to
play organized sports - was
named beneficiary of the annual
Vehicles and Violins Gala
traditionally held the evening
before the show opening.
Without a car show, the Gala
can't be held, he said.
So, what's next? " We're
going to go hard with a [fundraising]
golf tournament again
in 2022. " - Harry Pegg
The Calgary Motor Dealers
Association's annual
Vehicles and Violins Gala for
charity is cancelled this year,
a casualty of the COVID-19
pandemic. PHOTO: CMDA
Program builds skills
for EV technicians
VICTORIA - THE BRITISH
Columbia government is
underwriting an electric vehicle
maintenance-training
pilot program at Victoria's
Camosun College.
The government said that
with more than 60,000 EVs
on the province's roads, " it's
important " for auto technicians
to develop the skills to
service them, which in turn
will give people confidence to
choose an EV knowing it can
be professionally serviced.
The Camosun program, part
of the province's expansion of
the EV Maintenance Training
Program, has two one-week
courses at the college's
Interurban campus. The B.C.
Institute of Technology in the
Vancouver suburb of Burnaby,
Okanagan College in Kelowna
and the College of New
Caledonia's Prince George
campus also held course pilots
in 2020 and 2021.
- Steve Mertl
- ANC
http://www.AUTONEWS.COM/RETAILFORUM
Automotive News Canada - January 2022

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