Automotive News Canada - June 2022 - 30

30
06.22
30
FINAL ASSEMBLY
* JUNE 2022
LETTING LOOSE A BIT ON THE WONDERFUL WORLD OF AUTOMOTIVE
Toronto plugs away at EV infrastructure
More on-street charging
stations planned
for residential areas
OWNERS OF ELECTRIC VEHICLES
might have an easier time finding a place
to plug in in Toronto after Mayor John
Tory announced plans to add 32 on-street
Level 2 charging stations by the end of
2022.
They would be installed in 17 residential
on-street permit-parking locations, " in
areas where houses lack access to private
parking pads or garages, " according to a
release.
The city says it has selected locations
that have the capacity for dedicated EV
parking spots, allowing it to install the
chargers " with minimal disruption to
pedestrians and the community. "
The Residential and Downtown
On-Street Electric Vehicle Charging
Station pilot program began in October
2020. Seventeen charging stations were
installed along nine downtown and residential
roads in Toronto.
The total number of charging sessions
per month at the locations in residential
areas grew from 81 in October 2020 to 452
in April 2022, highlighting a growing need
for additional EV charging infrastructure
in these areas.
Total monthly charging sessions at
downtown locations also grew to 227 from
just four during this period.
Tory said more street charging will support
the city's TransformTO Net Zero initiative,
which aims to reduce the city's
greenhouse-gas emissions to net-zero by
2040. - ANC
Toronto's latest expansion of EV
charging stations targets residential
areas with on-street permit parking.
PHOTO: ISTOCK
Sienna turns
25 in style
Special trim salutes
the 300,000-plus
vehicles sold in
Canada since 1997
DesRosiers Automotive Consultants
found that about two-thirds of
Canadians surveyed said they will drive
less this summer because of higher
fuel prices. FILE PHOTO
Canadians
ease off gas
Record-high fuel prices
likely mean a summer
of pain at the pumps
and fewer, shorter trips
A RECENT STUDY CONDUCTED
by DesRosiers Automotive Consultants
indicates that more than 60 per cent of
Canadians find themselves driving less
as pump prices continue to rise.
The Richmond Hill, Ont.-based market-research
company surveyed 1,020
Canadians in May, asking them how rising
fuel prices have affected their driving
habits. Of those, 40.7 per cent said they
have been driving " a little " less since
prices began to rise this year, 21.7 per
cent said they have been driving " a lot "
less and 36.9 per cent said they have not
adjusted their driving habits.
DesRosiers Managing Partner Andrew
King said these results indicate that
nearly two-thirds of Canadian motorists
" have at least partially modified their
driving behaviour " in response to high
fuel prices. According to the Canadian
Automobile Association, prices for regular
gasoline across most of the country
are now above $2/litre, with highs of
$2.30/litre in Vancouver as of June 13.
Fuel costs are also forcing many
Canadians to rethink taking that usual
summer road trip. When asked whether
sustained high prices would affect their
plans for the summer, 41.3 per cent said
they planned to mildly cut back on driving,
25.6 per cent said they would drive " a
lot " less, and 32.7 per cent said rising fuel
prices would not affect their vehicle travel
plans this summer. - ANC
The last time the Policaro Foundation Track Day made laps at the
Canadian Tire Motorsport Park - in 2019 - it raised more than $160,000
for SickKids hospital. PHOTOS: POLICARO GROUP
HOSPITAL FUNDRAISER
GETS BACK ON TRACK
COVID-19 sidelined
the Policaro Group's
charity driving event
for two years
CANADIAN TIRE MOTORSPORT
Park in Bowmanville, Ont., will once
again roar to life for the Policaro
Foundation Track Day for SickKids
hospital.
The first track day was held in
2018 and returned for 2019 before the
COVID-19 pandemic forced its cancellation
in 2020 and 2021. Participants
raised more than $160,000 for SickKids
in 2019.
The event, scheduled for Sept.
14, allows participants to drive the
Motorsport Park circuit - 100 kilometres
northeast of downtown Toronto
- ride with a professional driver and
participate in activities such as kart
racing and a silent auction. Proceeds
from the event will benefit SickKids
hospital in downtown Toronto and
pediatric units of other local hospitals,
Policaro Group General Manager
Lina Policaro wrote in a post on her
LinkedIn page. -ANC
TOYOTA CANADA IS MARKING
the 25th anniversary of its minivan
with a new Sienna 25th
Anniversary Special Edition that's
based on the XSE AWD trim level.
It comes with a 245-horsepower
hybrid powertrain consisting
of a 2.5-litre four-cylinder engine
and two electric motors. Setting it
apart from the standard Sienna is
its black exterior trim, 25th-anniversary-branded
floor mats and key
fob cover. It also gets the auto-dimming
exterior mirrors from the
range-topping Limited trim level,
with puddle lights and power-fold
and reverse-tilt down function.
Toyota has sold more than
300,000 Sienna minivans since the
brand was launched in Canada in
1997. This current third-generation
Sienna was introduced for the 2023
model year and is offered exclusively
with a hybrid powertrain.
Toyota says it will release full
Canadian pricing for the 2023
25th-anniversary model this summer.
- ANC
The Sienna gets black exterior
trim, 25th-anniversary badging
and a few special touches.
PHOTO: TOYOTA
SAY WHAT?
''
At our stores,
At our stores,
everything is a wait.
'
MICHAEL CARMICHAEL
president of Ontario-based UpAuto group,
on the lengthy delays car buyers are facing
because of broken supply chains.
$566 MILLION
The expected reduction in
vehicle sales over the next five
years once Ottawa's proposed
10 per cent luxury tax goes
into effect Sept. 1.
Automotive News Canada - June 2022

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