Automotive News Canada - March 2022 - 10

10
03.22
OPINION
The end of masking
won't be an off switch
EXACTLY TWO YEARS AGO ON THE
front page of Automotive News
Canada, I wrote the headline,
" Canadian industry insulated, but not
immune to virus. "
I had just returned from a brief
winter getaway in Florida after hosting
what would be our last in-person
Canada Congress industry event in
Toronto.
The pandemic has
dealt emotional
blows to every
Canadian, and the
mask is a symbol
of that. Retailers
need to be
cautious of how
they handle
customers as mask
mandates end.
Of course,
no one knew it
at the time.
This was about
two weeks
before lockdowns,
single-family
bubbles,
self-isolation
and masking
began to
rule our lives.
During the
pandemic, I did
everything
right. I washed
my hands
often, stayed two metres from others,
stayed in my bubble, got vaccinated
(three times, eventually) and, of
course, wore a mask like my life
depended on it. Still, it
seemed like nothing
went right as our daily
actions revolved around
reacting to the latest
government rules.
I have a drawer full
of old cloth masks as a
reminder of what the
last two years have
been like.
And now most provinces
are ending mask
mandates - some
have already dropped
them - which is a declaration
of sorts that the
pandemic is finally over.
Two years.
All those masks.
I, for one, am a mess
EDITOR-IN-CHIEF
JEFF
MELNYCHUK
- has done to society, our loved
ones, our spirits and of course the
economy, will be studied for decades.
And I expect a full inquiry, as every
Canadian should, about how public
health both succeeded and failed
and what will be learned and applied
next time.
As Managing Editor Grace
Macaluso said early in the pandemic,
we're documenting history. We'll tell
stories about this, forever. We will feel
this, forever. We all have experienced
some trauma on some level.
This is why the story on Page 3
asks, very sincerely, if retail is ready
to unmask. On one hand, what could
be more simple than to just stop
wearing them. People are sick of
them, after all.
On the other hand, not all
Canadians are built to disengage
from a two-year habit at
the drop of a hat.
Dealers are in a situation
where emotion is
likely going to trump
whatever government policy
there is on masks.
How could it not. Mask
ideology went well beyond
public safety during the
pandemic, dividing friends
and rocking families to
their cores.
Two years ago,
COVID-19 was just
arriving in North
America. The mask
would become
a flashpoint of
emotion.
of mixed emotions thinking about the
family members we were unable to
see before they died during that time,
thinking about rediscovering normal
life without this COVID-19 cloud, and
finally flying to visit my parents, whom
I haven't seen since the summer of
2019.
What this pandemic - and the
government policy associated with it
The dealers interviewed
for the Page 3
story are wise to let customers
take the lead as
to whether they'll continue
to mask up, at least in
the short term. Dealers
will do so because they
want their customers to be comfortable
during their visits, but whether
dealers realize it, the face mask is a
symbol of the pandemic, a flash
point for emotion.
Honestly, we're all raw right now.
At least I am when I look into that
drawer.
Two years.
All those masks. - ANC
WRITE TO US:
We invite letters from our readers for publication (250word
max., please indicate " for publication " ). We reserve
the right to edit all submissions for length, content and clarity. Include your name, title,
company name, city and province, and tell us your connection to the auto industry.
Email letters to Grace.Macaluso@autonews.com
What's after retail's 'golden age'?
" IS THIS ABOUT AS GOOD AS IT GETS? "
That question confronted AutoCanada Inc. executives
March 3 during the company's fourth-quarter
earnings call, which boasted " record-setting " results.
With tight vehicle supply, pent-up demand and
rising margins, auto retailers are raking it in. And the
Edmonton-based group, which operates
60 dealerships in Canada
and 18 in the United States, is
no exception. AutoCanada reported
$1.195 billion in revenue for
the fourth quarter, up from
$876.1 million a year earlier. Net
income for the period almost tripled
to $69.4 million.
MACALUSO
MANAGING EDITOR
GRACE
'What will the
world look like
when everything
normalizes?'
Amid inventory shortages that are expected to last
well into next year, AutoCanada sees no need to " sell
new vehicles at anything less than full market value. "
Margins on used-vehicle sales
also are booming, buoyed in
large part by the same inventory
squeeze that has consumers
paying top dollar for purchases.
The publicly traded dealership
group recently bought 11 stores
from London, Ont.-based
Autopoint and is hunting for more. Armed with a
$500-million war chest, executives are eyeing " several
dealerships representing more than $100 million
in annual revenue, " the company said.
" We have tons of opportunity in front of us, " said
AutoCanada Executive Chairman Paul Antony.
Dealers, particularly groups big enough to enjoy
the economies of scale, are experiencing " the golden
age. " And it could last well into this year and early
2023, said Antony, confidently predicting that
AutoCanada is " going to kill it " in 2022.
Even rising fuel prices aren't expected to dampen
demand for larger, more profitable vehicles that are
receiving preferential treatment by automakers as
they chase precious microchips. " Automakers are trying
to figure out with very limited materials which
vehicles to make, and they're making the high-margin
vehicles, " Scotiabank economist
Rebekah Young said in a Page 8 story.
But what happens to surging dealer
revenues once inventory returns to
pre-pandemic levels? Chris Murray, an
analyst at ATB Capital Markets in
Toronto, asked Antony during
AutoCanada's conference call.
Global-supplychain
disruptions wrought by the
COVID-19 pandemic will eventually
recover, prompting automakers to
crank up assembly lines and
replenish starved dealer lots. Will
dealers manage to sustain
record-setting margins in a balanced
market?
" What will the world look like
when everything normalizes? I have
no idea, " Antony replied. " We're all
trying to figure it out. "
AutoCanada's success, he
stressed, isn't based on a " pandemic
pickup. " It's based on a
Antony:
AutoCanada
had a plan
to thrive well
before the
" pandemic
pickup. "
FILE PHOTO
turnaround strategy conceived long before COVID-19
took hold, he said.
" We believe our business model remains resilient
to fluctuations in the market. "
Resilience is exactly what dealers across the
board will have to employ once the " golden age "
ends and margins return to earth. - ANC
Welcoming Ukrainians is a hire
calling, with a higher purpose
'There is a
PUBLISHED MONTHLY BY CRAIN COMMUNICATIONS, INC.
JEFF MELNYCHUK, EDITOR-IN-CHIEF, 506.866.8236, Jeff.Melnychuk@autonews.com
GRACE MACALUSO, MANAGING EDITOR, 226.787.0441, Grace.Macaluso@autonews.com
GREG LAYSON, DIGITAL AND MOBILE EDITOR, 519.567.8877, Greg.Layson@autonews.com
TIM DIMOPOULOS, MANAGING DIRECTOR/PUBLISHER
416.560.7663, tim.dimopoulos@autonews.com
ADVERTISING SALES
MATT PARSONS, 313.446.5866, mparsons@autonews.com
CUSTOMER SERVICE/SUBSCRIPTIONS: 877.812.1257
customerservicecanada@autonews.com
CRAIN COMMUNICATIONS, INC.
KEITH E. CRAIN, EDITOR EMERITUS
KC CRAIN, GROUP PUBLISHER
CHRISSY TAYLOR, VICE-PRESIDENT EDITORIAL OPERATIONS, AUTOMOTIVE NEWS GROUP
proud heritage
of Ukrainians in
automotive in
Canada, so we
said, 'Let's go.'
CANADA'S AUTO INDUSTRY IS
once again rising to the occasion
during a time of global crisis.
Two years ago, as COVID-19
arrived, the industry rallied to
provide personal protective
equipment and much-needed
ventilators.
Today, it's offering to find
automotive jobs for Ukrainian
refugees fleeing Russia's bloody
and violent invasion of their
homeland.
Flavio Volpe, head of the
Automotive Parts Manufacturers'
Association
(APMA), got
the ball rolling.
After
hearing from
his board
and association
members,
he
tweeted a
call to arms.
" We will match qualified candidates
with employers, " Volpe
said.
" A lot of people who built the
Canadian auto industry came
from Eastern Europe and work
with their hands, were entrepreneurs.
There is a proud heritage
of Ukrainians in automotive in
Canada, so we said, 'Let's go.' "
More than 700,000
Canadians working in skilled
trades alone will retire by 2028,
according to a recent report by
RBC. In February, Statistics
Canada reported that 73,900
DIGITAL AND
MOBILE EDITOR
GREG
LAYSON
manufacturing jobs were open
as of December. But there are
not enough skilled Canadians to
fill the positions.
Although the APMA has a digital
learning platform and programs
that partner with the government
to employ people from
" vulnerable communities, " its
member companies are still
thousands of employees short.
" I say this with all humility, "
Volpe said, " What more can we
do? "
Look overseas, of course.
Europeans helped build the
Canadian auto industry.
Frank Stronach arrived in
Canada from Austria and founded
Magna International. He built
it into one of the world's largest
automotive suppliers.
Frank Hasenfratz, who died in
January, had a similar story. He
came to Canada from Hungary,
virtually penniless, and began
Linamar Corp. in his Guelph,
Ont., basement. The company
also became a supply giant.
" Our founder, Frank
Hasenfratz, left Hungary in 1956
after having taken up arms as a
freedom fighter in Hungary, " the
company said in a statement.
" In honour of his life and the
Ukrainian people, Linamar Corp.
is matching donations made by
our employees to the Canada
Ukraine Foundation (CUF) in
support of the humanitarian
efforts in Ukraine. "
As Ukrainians arrive, I hope
not to see social media posts
complaining about " foreigners
taking our jobs. " Instead, we
should welcome them for choosing
freedom over oppression and
hope over hopelessness. In other
words, for wanting to be
Canadians.
Is the next Frank Stronach,
left, or Frank Hasenfratz in
Ukraine, looking to Canada?
FILE PHOTOS
These folks will work hard,
appreciate the opportunity and
spend money in our economy.
And maybe one day create the
next Magna International.
We have plenty of jobs that
the newcomers can fill, but
Volpe says there's something
even more valuable we can provide
to make their lives better
and our nation stronger.
" Lots of peace and hope. "
- ANC

Automotive News Canada - March 2022

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Automotive News Canada - March 2022