Automotive News Canada - May 2022 - 3

* MAY 2022
3
SECOND FRONT
Demand is so high and
supply so low that some
dealers can offer only the
promise of a new vehicle.
PHOTO: GREG LAYSON
APRIL SALES
A sign of the times
The drop of 13.3 per
cent was compared
with a month that
was already being
impacted by
inventory issues
By GREG LAYSON
DIGITAL AND MOBILE EDITOR
THE GLOBAL MICROCHIP
shortage not only continues to
weigh on Canada's new-vehicle
market, but the impact appears to
be worsening.
Sales were down 13.3 per cent
in April compared with the
same month a year earlier, and
the seasonally adjusted annual
rate (SAAR) for the month
reached only 1.44 million, according
to DesRosiers Automotive
Consultants.
While the semiconductor crisis
began to emerge in late 2020, it was
April 2021 that marked the first full
month in which the shortage hit the
CORRECTION
Stories on pages 1, 16 and 17
of the April issue said the $5-billion
Stellantis-LG Solution battery
plant in Windsor, Ont., is expected
to employ 3,200 people. In
fact, it will employ 2,500 people.
market in a big way. That month,
the SAAR plummeted to 1.66 million
from a healthy 1.92 million in
March as vehicle supply dried up.
It has not recovered since,
despite market demand that is
" at or above two million units, "
said DesRosiers Automotive
Consultants.
" The demand-side problems of
the early pandemic months of 2020
now seem like distant history, with
the past 12 months dominated by
supply-side woes that show few
short-term signs of ameliorating, "
Andrew King, DesRosiers managing
partner, said in a statement.
The consultancy estimates that
140,785 new light vehicles were sold
in April, barely higher than the
140,460 that sold in March and well
off April sales in 2021.
Monthly figures are an estimate
now that most automakers report
sales only quarterly. DesRosiers
uses a proprietary method to estimate
monthly sales.
In pre-pandemic April 2019, sales
totaled about 185,000 vehicles.
'RESERVE YOURS TODAY'
Currently, consumer demand is
so strong and inventory so scarce,
dealers in some regions have taken
to posting signs in near-empty lots
encouraging customers to " reserve
yours today " when it comes to new
vehicles.
SEE NEARLY ALL PAGE 32
The majority of
the funding recently
announced will be
spent in the United
States and Mexico,
but the CEO says
there's still a large
portion available
By DAVID KENNEDY
T ORONTO BUREAU CHIEF
VOLKSWAGEN GROUP IS
exploring investment opportunities
in Canada as the automaker
realigns its North American
footprint to build electric vehicles,
according to Scott Keogh,
VW CEO for the region.
" Whether it's on the battery
side of the equation, whether
it's on the mining side of
the equation and the materials
that go along with that, I think
Canada as a country is doing
an amazing job ... positioning
itself and positioning its ecosystem, "
he said during an April 26
media roundtable in Toronto.
Keogh had no announcements
but said nothing is " off
the table " as the automaker
looks to build a battery supply
chain and further localize production
in North America.
" One of the reasons I'm here
and will continue to be here
is to look at opportunities in
Canada, " he said.
VW plans to have 25 EV
models available in North
America by 2030, and on
March 21, the automaker
released a plan to spend US
$7.1 billion on local manufacturing
and R&D through 2027
to help it get there. The majority
of the spending locked in at
this stage will be in the United
States and Mexico, but Keogh
said a large portion of the
funding is still unspoken for.
" I think there's massive
opportunities for industrialization
in the entire region, " he
TRANS-CANADA NEWS 5,000 KILOMETRES OF STORIES
Strike brings higher
wages to N.B. dealership
EIGHTEEN SERVICE
technicians, detailers and parts
workers at Acadia Toyota in
Moncton, N.B., returned to work
April 13 with higher pay and better
scheduling options following
an eventful five-day strike,
according to the union that represents
the workers.
Members of Unifor Local
4501 began picketing April 7,
demanding wages be brought
in line with those of other dealership
employees in the area.
the picket line, according to the
union. The vehicle left the scene
and incident was reported to
the RCMP.
Unifor said the new agreement
between the dealership
and workers was reached
through a mediator.
- Steve Mertl
The eventful five-day strike
at Acadia Toyota in Moncton
ended with the help of a
mediator. PHOTO: UNIFOR
Three union members escaped a
day later with " bumps and bruises "
after being struck by a car on
Rivian begins building
out its service network
ELECTRIC-VEHICLE STARTUP
Rivian is fleshing out its customer-service
plan as it prepares to
deliver its first pickups and utility
vehicles this summer.
said, pointing to battery production
capacity to support sales
of as many as 10 million EVs
across all brands annually by
2030.
VW will get batteries for its
first locally built EVs from SK
Innovation's plant in Georgia,
but has committed to expanding
its battery cell production
capacity in North America.
LOCALIZATION IS A PRIORITY
A Canadian production footprint
would be a major shift for
the automaker, which operates
assembly plants for VW-badged
vehicles in Puebla, Mexico, and
Chattanooga, Tenn. Across its
wider passenger-vehicle and
heavy-truck brands, the global
Volkswagen Group operates
03
05.22
Volkswagen not ruling out
EV investment in Canada
nine North American production
plants, none of which are in
Canada.
Throughout the electrification
process, localization will
remain a priority, Keogh said.
Currently about 85 per cent
of the components and materials
that go into VW's North
American-made vehicles come
from within the region.
Keogh said much of the
company's new spending will
remain anchored to its existing
production hubs in Mexico and
the United States, but he left the
door open for Canada. VW sees
it as " smart business to balance
your region " and the automaker
will be investing in " what
markets can do things better "
accordingly, he said. - ANC
One of the reasons
I'm here and will continue
to be here is to look at
opportunities
in Canada.
SCOTT KEOGH
CEO, Volkswagen
North America
PHOTO: VOLKSWAGEN
" The service centres will
form part of our delivery experience
as well as hosting customer
events, " Rivian spokeswoman
Laura Weston told
Automotive News Canada in an
emailed statement.
The automaker declined to
say how many centres it will
establish.
Rivian has begun recruiting
staff for its Vancouver operation,
Weston added, but the
company would not disclose
details.
Rivian confirmed early this
year that the first Canadian
vehicle deliveries are scheduled
for July. The launch editions
will be the first to arrive,
with lower-cost variants of both
vehicles to follow.
Production is centred
around Rivian's assembly
plant in Normal, Ill., southwest
of Chicago. Output has been
slow since the assembly line
lurched to life in September
2021, with the company blaming
supply-chain problems. As
of March 31, 3,568 vehicles had
been built. - David Kennedy
250 jobs tied to new
wire-harness plant
ProEV, A SUBSIDIARY OF
Missouri-based Electrical
SEE TRANS-CANADA PAGE 27
Automotive News Canada - May 2022

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