Automotive News Canada - November 2022 - 6

6
* NOVEMBER 2022
The first Honda CR-V Hybrids rolled off
the line at the Alliston, Ont., complex in
November. Honda Canada CEO Jean Marc
Leclerc called its production a " logical
step in our strategy that will also prepare
our manufacturing facilities and our
associates for the eventual shift to EV
production. " PHOTO: DAVID KENNEDY
TRENDING
STORIES
automotivenews.ca
ONGOING WEB COVERAGE
LABOUR SHORTAGE
The industry continues to have more job openings than employees,
and the federal government has promised to bring more immigrants
to Canada to fill them. It's preparing its next budget,
so solutions might be on the horizon.
ECONOMIC UNCERTAINTY
CR-V Hybrid sets the table
for building EVs in Canada
The vehicle - part of a
$1.4-billion investment
- is new to Honda
Canada Mfg. and is
also new to the
Canadian market
By DAVID KENNEDY
T ORONTO BUREAU CHIEF
THE FIRST CANADIANmade
hybrid vehicle model has
begun rolling off the line at Honda
Canada's campus in Alliston, Ont.
It's a milestone that CEO Jean Marc
Leclerc said puts the company one
step closer to assembly of electric
vehicles at the three-plant complex
north of Toronto.
During the official launch of the
CR-V Hybrid on Nov. 9, Leclerc told
staff at Plant 2 that building hybrids
is a " logical step in our strategy
that will also prepare our manufacturing
facilities and our associates
for the eventual shift to EV production. "
Honda
of Canada Mfg. (HCM)
began retooling the Alliston
plant late last year and publicly
announced the arrival of the CR-V
in March as the centrepiece of a
$1.4-billion investment. The federal
and provincial governments each
pledged $131.6 million to the project.
Retrofits at the plant ran
throughout much
of 2022, even as
the assembly
line continued to
churn out the previous
generation
of the crossover.
Among many
other upgrades,
several segments
of the assembly
line needed to be
strengthened to
accommodate the
weightier load of
the hybrid model,
said Jeff Hansen,
engineering project
leader for
the CR-V. Floor
space for a new
in March as the centrepiece of a
Leclerc: With
the CR-V
Hybrid, Honda
seems to be
" hitting the
market at the
heart of when
more people
want to buy
hybrids. "
FILE PHOTO
subassembly line - where specially
trained and equipped employees
piece together the vehicle's battery,
electronics and cooling system -
was also carved out.
Plant 2 is now tooled up to build
up to 870 CR-Vs daily on two shifts.
For the foreseeable future, Honda
expects roughly half this production
to be devoted to the hybrid
model and half to the gasoline version.
The
new models are now " trickling
out " of the plant and beginning
to reach dealers, Leclerc
told Automotive News Canada at
Alliston.
" The demand is growing every
day. We just seem to be hitting the
market at the heart of when more
people want to buy hybrids. "
SOUTH OF BORDER, EV INVESTMENT
As the CR-V Hybrid reaches consumers
in Canada for the first time,
the automaker is turning its attention
to production of battery-electric
vehicles in the United States.
On Oct. 11, Honda announced
two major EV investments in Ohio,
committing US $3.5 billion for a
joint-venture battery plant with LG
Energy Solution, plus US $700 million
for EV-oriented retooling projects
at three Ohio plants.
Honda is also preparing to
launch the Prologue EV and the
Acura ZDX for 2024. Both will be
built on General Motors' Ultium
platform.
" That [investment] does not preclude
anything from happening
here. We're well-positioned because
we're training our associates [and]
we're retrofitting our manufacturing
plants to evolve HCM to build
EVs in the future. "
Because Ohio has long been a
R&D hub for Honda, Leclerc said,
it did not come as a surprise that
the state is the company's North
American nerve centre for EVs.
The automaker has not provided
details about new models based on
its upcoming e:Architecture platform
but has said they will be built
and sold in North America beginning
in 2026.
" It starts there, and then basically
you spread the expertise to
other plants that will start building
EVs for [Honda], including HCM, "
Leclerc said.
Plant 2 is now tooled up to build up to 870 CR-Vs daily on two shifts.
Honda expects about half this production to be devoted to the
hybrid. PHOTO: DAVID KENNEDY
He did not say when HCM would
begin building EVs and he would
not comment on whether fully electric
models would lead to local battery
production. - ANC
HYDROGEN A 'SUITABLE' DIESEL REPLACEMENT
TOYOTA AND CUMMINS ARE TAKING ANOTHER LOOK AT
hydrogen combustion, which can replace diesel engines in a
broad array of vehicles. " A hydrogen internal-combustion engine
shares very similar performance and efficiency attributes to a diesel-internal-combustion
engine, " said Jim Nebergall, general manager
of hydrogen engines at Cummins. " This means it's a suitable
replacement for any diesel application. "
SHORTAGES WEIGH ON SUPPLIERS
AFTER REPORTING EARNINGS IN EARLY NOVEMBER, TWO
of Canada's biggest auto parts makers say the supply
picture is improving, but disruptions continue to
weigh on operations. Martinrea CEO Pat D'Eramo
said " there's still a lot of disruption, " but that things
are getting better. Magna CEO Swamy Kotagiri said
" the volatility has not improved as much as we had
thought it would in the second half of this year. " In
2023, Magna sees 200,000 fewer vehicles being
produced in North America and 400,000 fewer in
Europe. But, output in China is expected to climb by 1.1 million.
300 AUCTION JOBS MOVING OFFSHORE
KAR GLOBAL, THE WHOLESALE AUCTIONS PROVIDER,
plans to move more than 300 positions to a global shared services
organization from the United States and Canada, which
it says will cut costs. " We have recently agreed to terms with
two offshore firms to provide resources to support our back-office
functions for KAR Global, " CFO Eric Loughmiller said during
a recent earnings call. " This will impact over 300 positions in the
U.S. and Canada. "
ACCORD HYBRID PLAYS A BIG ROLE
THE 11TH-GENERATION HONDA ACCORD SEDAN WILL BE
sold in three wellequipped
gasoline-electric
trims in
Canada and four
south of the border.
Honda projects
50 per cent of
buyers will opt for
the hybrid models
positioned at
the top of the 2023
Accord's simplified lineup. The redesigned sedan is expected
to launch early next year. In addition to checking a key box on
Honda's electrification strategy, the Accord will " reinvigorate " the
shrinking midsize segment, said Lance Woelfer, Honda's assistant
vice-president of sales. - ANC
PHOTO: HONDA
Interest rates and inflation continue to rise, affecting monthly auto
payments, which are also up, according to J.D. Power and Associates.
The Bank of Canada is set to announce another rate hike on Dec. 7.
B.C. AUCTION HOUSE MAKES $7.3B DEAL
RITCHIE BROS. AUCTIONEERS INC. OF BRITISH COLUMBIA
is acquiring U.S.-based IAA Inc. for about US $7.3
billion, including the assumption of US $1 billion of
net debt. IAA auctions vehicles on a digital platform.
" Their highly complementary business in an adjacent
vertical will allow us to unlock additional growth, "
Ritchie Bros. CEO Ann Fandozzi told The Canadian
Press. " Through our trusted brands, similar operating
model, and complementary services, we expect
to drive efficiencies and create a more resilient
business. "
Fandozzi
SUPPLIED
PHOTO
Kotagiri
FILE PHOTO
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