Automotive News Canada - July 2022 - 30

30
* JULY 2022
RACE TIME MEANS
FACE TIME
The casual observer is focused on the
checkered flag, but for automakers and
dealers, winning comes in a different way
By SAM McEACHERN
T ORONTO CORRESPONDENT
HIGH-OCTANE IN-PERSON
racing events are back after being
put on hold during the COVID19
pandemic, providing renewed
focus on brand building and dealership
staff morale.
The Canadian Grand Prix in
Montreal had not been run since
June 2019, but for Nissan the 2022
event went beyond the start-finish
line.
The automaker hosted 42 dealers
and some of their employees,
providing hospitality and tickets
to the event as a reward for performing
well in a customer-service-focused
competition held in
March and April. Stores were
judged based on feedback for sales
and aftersales.
Dealership staff also got the
chance to get together in a fun
environment after the pandemic
cancelled many events throughout
2020 and 2021, said Nissan
Canada President Steve Milette.
" The dealers are asking us
for opportunities to go and meet
their colleagues, " Milette told
Automotive News Canada in
Montreal during Grand Prix
weekend, June 18-19.
" They haven't been to conventions
in a long time, they haven't
been to auto shows in a long time,
so this created one more opportunity
to reconnect us with them
but reconnect them with each
other as well.
" We're a product business, but
we're also a people business. It's
very difficult to align on strategy
and culture if you don't do the
face-to-face. There's only so much
Zoom you can do. "
'HELPS BUILD CAMARADERIE'
Racing is effective at building
brands and morale, and Torontobased
Pfaff Automotive Partners
was eager to resume its participation
in the Chevrolet Grand Prix
at Canadian Tire Motorsport Park
in Bowmanville, near Toronto.
The return of International
Motor Sports Association
(IMSA) series over the Canada
Day weekend allowed Pfaff to
host local representatives from
its sponsors and partners, along
with employees from its retail
network, said Pfaff Motorsports
ers], they really like it. "
Applewood Auto Group CEO
Darren Graham, whose company
operates three Nissan dealerships
in Ontario, was in Montreal as a
guest of Nissan Canada. He said
the Grand Prix made it clear that
in-person events are still important
to both dealers and automakers.
" Rubbing
shoulders with other dealers, suppliers and
manufacturers is actually the key, " Applewood Auto Group CEO
Darren Graham said about in-person events. Graham was a
guest of Nissan for the 2022 Montreal Grand Prix, and he was a
competitor in the 2021 Nissan Sentra Cup, pictured.
SUPPLIED PHOTO
General Manager Steve
Bortolotti.
" This [race] is our big one, "
Bortolotti told Automotive News
Canada ahead of the event. " It's
huge for us from a team-building
standpoint.
" When it's a team that is centred
around the dealerships, and
founded essentially within
the dealerships and
has employees from our
various dealerships, it
helps build camaraderie
within the group. "
The dealership group
operates a race team,
Pfaff Motorsports, that
competes with a Porsche
911 GT3 R in the GTD
Pro category of the IMSA
WeatherTech SportsCar
Championship. The
U.S.-based series was
unable to make its yearly
visit to Ontario for
the Chevrolet Grand
Prix in 2020 and 2021
because of the pandemic,
removing the only
Canadian race on the calendar
and stripping Pfaff
Motorsports of its home
event.
visor in, let's say, a more neutral
territory away from the office or
dealership. "
LITTLE CAR, BIG THRILLS
Nissan Canada is not directly
involved in Formula One, but
its Nissan Sentra Cup race series
served as the support category
for this year's Canadian
Grand Prix, taking to
the track between the
F1 practice sessions and
the race.
Nault: The
Nissan
Sentra Cup
races during
Canadian
Grand Prix
weekend were
a source of
pride for the
automaker and
the dealers.
SUPPLIED PHOTO
Nissan Canada President Steve Milette and Nissan Sentra Cup
Drivers Marie-Soleil Labelle (left) and Valérie Limoges.
PHOTO: NISSAN CANADA
Pfaff said it expected to host
more than 100 VIPs from its sponsors
and partners on race day as
well as 300 employees from across
its automotive retail network.
" That helps bring people
together and cheer for a common
goal but also allows people
to hang out outside of work, "
Bortolotti said.
" Sometimes it's nice to get to
know a fellow employee or superThe
series features
Sentra compact sedans
with upgraded suspensions,
brakes and tires,
along with the necessary
safety equipment.
The 2022 Nissan
Sentra Cup involves 12
races, but the stop on
Montreal's Circuit Gilles
Villeneuve is the most
important of the season,
said Marc-André
Nault, Nissan Canada's
vice-president of sales
operations. This is true
for both the competitors
on the track as
well as the dealers who
travelled to see their products in
front of a large crowd, Nault said.
The F1 event drew 338,000 fans,
according to CBC News.
" Taking a vehicle from a stock
unit and making it a race car,
there's a lot of pride factored into
it, " Nault said. " And the fact it
can be part of the F1, it's just adding
to the excitement that goes
with it.
" We're a car business, and that
goes with our DNA, so the [deal " I
was at dinner ... with
the Nissan guys, and everybody's
jubilant, " Graham said.
" Everyone wants to get back to
it and get face-to-face. Rubbing
shoulders with other dealers, suppliers
and manufacturers is actually
the key. "
Graham was a competitor in
the 2021 Sentra Cup.
MORE TO COME
Nissan is now looking ahead
to more in-person events, said
Milette, including the Canadian
International AutoShow in
Bortolotti:
The Chevrolet
Grand Prix is a
" team-building "
opportunity.
PHOTO:
SAM MCEACHERN
Toronto and
the Montreal
International
Auto Show.
Both were
canceled for
2021 and 2022,
but they are
scheduled for
early 2023.
Retailers
have also
requested that
Nissan host
a nationwide
Canadian
dealer meeting,
said
Milette. The pandemic has prevented
the automaker from hosting
such in-person events for the
past two years.
" We have a dealer convention
that we've planned in
October, which really was a
dealer request, " Milette said.
" We typically have one meeting
every second year as a combined
Americas, but that happens to be
next year. The [Canadian] dealers
were asking us: 'We think it's
time, get us in a room. It's time to
see each other, celebrate the wins
that we've had and really align on
the strategy.'
" Definitely our dealers want
to be live with us, and this is the
first of many to come. " - ANC
The Nissan Sentra Cup
series is 12 races, but
the event coinciding
with the Formula One
race in Montreal is the
most important of the
season, said Marc-André
Nault, Nissan Canada's
vice-president of sales
operations.
SUPPLIED PHOTO
Automotive News Canada - July 2022

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