Automotive News Canada - December 2022 - 10

10
12.22
OPINION
Rolling up our
sleeves for 2023
JUST WHEN WE THOUGHT IT
couldn't get any wilder than 2020 and
then 2021, along came 2022 to say,
" Hold my beer. "
The year-in-review special on Page
32 and 33 recaps the 2022 auto-industry
events in short form with everything
from $8.6 billion in Stellantis
investments, to collapsing vehicle sales
- yet higher profits for dealers - to
the " billion-dollar blockade " of the
Ambassador Bridge that connects
Windsor, Ont., to Detroit.
Early in the year, when governments
began lifting health restrictions related
to COVID-19, I
thought, " well, I'm
glad that's over.
Now we can get
back to something
familiar. "
Yet, here we
EDITOR-IN-CHIEF
JEFF
MELNYCHUK
are. There are few,
if any, health
New initiatives
from Automotive
News Canada:
Retail salary
survey, social
media awards and
a return to an
in-person Canada
Congress.
restrictions in Canada, but in many
respects there's no coming back from
the collateral damage of government-mandated
lockdowns, some of
which have continued in other parts of
the world, such as China.
What will 2023 dish out? We don't
have a crystal ball, but like many companies,
Automotive News Canada has
moved forward while dealing with the
negative effects of the pandemic.
First up is the
return of Canada
Congress.
Normally an
in-person event
tied in with the
timing of the
Canadian
International
AutoShow in
February, our last
live congress was
in early 2020.
Three years later,
we'll be back with
numerous speakers and fireside chats
to provide some insight into the direction
of the industry, particularly with
regard to vehicle electrification.
Stay tuned in the coming weeks for
a finalized lineup and schedule.
Brand new initiatives - either completed
or in the planning stages - are
equally exciting.
Beginning early in the year, we'll roll
out the results of our first retail salary
survey. Dealership staff across Canada
will be able to compare their pay to
their peers by region, gender and by
automotive brand. Without spilling the
beans, the most encouraging data
relates to industry wages that are
much higher than the national average.
In a tight
labour market, the
detailed information
could provide
the competitive
advantage dealers
need to attract
new talent.
Also early in the
new year, Automotive News Canada
will begin accepting nominations for
Diversity Champions. (Read about this
year's honorees beginning on Page
22.) The expanded project is intended
to shine a spotlight on individuals in
the industry who are making significant
strides in diversity, equity and inclusion.
Speaking of spotlight, this issue features
23 Automotive News Canada AllStars,
industry professionals who pulled
off " noteworthy, incredible and sometimes
audacious achievements " in the
past 12 months. While this editors'-choice
initiative consists of praise
based on words, All-Stars is in the
works to become an in-person awards
event in 2023.
Last but certainly not least is the
Automotive News Canada social media
awards. Social media is a blind spot for
many retailers who are unclear with
what works. The plan is to accept submissions
for out-of-the box thinking for
everything from TikTok and YouTube
videos, to LinkedIn and Facebook
posts. The wilder the better. Finalists
would be judged and awarded by social
media experts, and Automotive News
Canada would present the winners'
efforts in the form of best practices, or
at the very least, inspiration.
There will likely be more happening
as we intend to expand operations in
the new year. And if 2023 says, " Hold
my beer, " we'll be covering that, too.
- 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
It would be an industry coup
if Canada wins VW battery plant
ON DEC. 1, THE VOLKSWAGEN GROUP CAME
tantalizingly close to naming Canada as home to the
automaker's first North American battery cell plant.
CEO Oliver Blume stopped short of singling out the
country as the only place
Volkswagen was considering but
said Canada is " a logical option. "
His comments came as the automaker
agreed to work with the federal
government to identify sites for
a planned battery cell plant for VW
subsidiary PowerCo.
DAVID
KENNEDY
The choice:
Quebec has
much cheaper
power while
Ontario is much
closer to VW's
Tennessee plant.
If Ottawa can close out the deal, it would likely be
the Canadian auto industry's biggest coup since the
arrival of Honda and Toyota in the 1980s.
In spring, Stellantis announced plans to build a
$5-billion cell factory in Windsor, Ont., with LG Energy
Solution. But unlike the Chrysler, Dodge, Jeep and
Ram parent company, which has operated in Ontario
for decades, Volkswagen would
be an new addition to Canada's
manufacturing sector.
The automaker has provided
few other details on its search
but said PowerCo has a short list
and will enter negotiations " in
the near future " to identify the
most competitive site.
The process will put Canada's
two largest provinces in competition.
Ontario
already has the assembly operations of
five automakers and a lengthy list of parts suppliers.
But recent battery supply-chain activity in Quebec,
plus the province's stores of hydro-electric power,
makes it a contender.
In fact, Thomas Schmall, VW's technology chief,
named " adequate quantities of energy from renewable
sources and competitive financial conditions " as
among the key inputs that PowerCo is considering.
On these metrics, Quebec holds an edge. Its electricity
grid runs almost entirely hydroelectric. For large
customers, that power is also the cheapest of any
major market in Canada or the
United States - $5.33 cents per
kilowatt-hour in the Montreal area
as of April, according to a HydroQuebec
report.
TORONTO
BUREAU
CHIEF
Ontario's grid is also extraordinarily
clean by global standards,
generating 94 per cent of its power
emissions-free, according to the provincial government.
That comes mainly through a blend of nuclear
and hydro.
But the role of gas-fired generation
has risen in recent years, and
in October, Ontario's grid operator
called for the province to invest in
natural-gas plants to meet nearterm
supply constraints.
Costs are also higher. Large
commercial customers in the
Toronto area were paying $9.76
cents per kWh as of April, according
to the same Hydro-Quebec
report.
On the other hand, Ontario
has its nose ahead when it
comes to proximity to
Volkswagen's nearest assembly
operation. A plant in the provSchmall:
VW
prefers
renewable
energy -
does that
give Quebec
an edge over
Ontario?
FILE PHOTO
ince's automotive heartland would be about 700
kilometres closer to supplying VW's plant in
Chattanooga, Tenn., than one located, for example,
in the Montreal area.
A decision could come sooner rather than later,
with some industry observers predicting an announcement
sometime over the next six months. - ANC
No health restrictions, so why
aren't auto shows bouncing back?
WHEN WRITING ABOUT AUTO
shows in Canada, it feels like I'm
plagiarizing the epic rock band
Queen:
Another one bites the dust.
And another one gone, and
another one gone.
Another one bites the dust.
On Nov. 28, I made a
There's no
PUBLISHED MONTHLY BY CRAIN COMMUNICATIONS, INC.
KC CRAIN, GROUP PUBLISHER & CEO
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
CHRISSY TAYLOR, VICE-PRESIDENT EDITORIAL OPERATIONS, AUTOMOTIVE NEWS GROUP
KC CRAIN, PRESIDENT & CEO
KEITH E. CRAIN, EDITOR EMERITUS
LinkedIn post including a link to
our story on Ford Canada pulling
all corporate involvement in
Canadian auto shows in 2023. I
wrote: " Let's hope this isn't the
first of many
dominoes. "
In fact, it
stopping the
dominoes once
they start to
topple.
was the second
domino.
The Calgary
International
Auto and Truck
Show and
Vehicles &
Violins charity gala were canceled
just days before.
And then came news the
Vancouver International Auto
Show was also off, as well as the
Ottawa-Gatineau International
Auto Show.
That led to my next auto-show
related LinkedIn post: " The dominoes
are falling FAST, you guys.
Another auto show in Canada
bites the dust. This time?
Vancouver. "
As someone covering the auto
DIGITAL AND
MOBILE EDITOR
GREG
LAYSON
industry, it saddens me to see so
many shows axed.
Live events of any kind are
something special. A chance to
connect with friends, customers
and colleagues. But today, everything
- and I mean everything
- is online.
You date online. No more
nightclubs needed. You watch
movies online. Say good bye to
the theatre. You shop online. And
that's the end of the auto show
as we know it.
COVID-19 didn't help, forcing
us to be a little more comfortable
staying home and a little more
cautious about going out.
Pile on the global microchip
crisis and subsequent vehicle
inventory shortage - both ongoing
- and it's no wonder automakers
are turning their backs
on pricey in-person events.
Ford explained to Automotive
News Canada why it chose to
forgo the 2023 auto show season:
" As
the auto industry experiences
change at a pace never
seen before, Ford of Canada is
transforming every part of its
business. The company is moving
fast to lead the EV revolution and
is learning how to connect with
consumers in new ways. These
challenges mean making some
tough choices and one of those
decisions is to discontinue corporate
support of auto shows in
2023 for both the Ford and
Lincoln brands. "
That leaves me worried for the
2023 Canadian International
AutoShow, which, as I write
these words, is still scheduled to
go ahead in Toronto in February.
But as anyone who has
watched dominoes topple, it
happens fast. And there's no
stopping them once they start.
- ANC
The expense of EV
investments is keeping
Ford, and presumably other
automakers, from participating
in live events such as the
Canadian International
AutoShow. FILE PHOTO

Automotive News Canada - December 2022

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