Automotive News Canada - March 2023 - 29

* MARCH 2023
29
VW: A 'huge game-changer' Expect other automakers
to come to Canada
CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1
become a global battery player, " Schmall said in a
release.
Ontario is already home to assembly operations of
five global automakers, but Volkswagen will be the first
brand from Europe to put down significant roots in the
province.
The investment will be a " huge game-changer " for the
country's auto sector, Champagne told Automotive News
Canada.
" When these big automakers come, they bring their
whole supply chain with them, " he said. " It's almost difficult
to fathom the scale of opportunities. "
Despite stiff competition, for months Canada has
appeared to be the
front-runner for
Volkswagen's inaugural
battery-cell site.
In August, VW
When these big
automakers
come, they bring
their whole
supply chain with
them. It's almost
diffi cult to
fathom the scale
of opportunities. "
François-Philippe
Champagne
Federal minister of
innovation, science
and industry
signed a memorandum
of understanding with
the Canadian government
to cooperate on
building a supply chain
for battery-electric vehicles.
And in December,
the automaker singled
out Canada as " one logical
option " for the battery
plant, though it
cautioned that other
countries were also
being considered.
The site for the new
plant in St. Thomas
is bookended by two
railway lines and has
strong highway and
utility links, according
to the St. Thomas
Economic Development
Corp., which spent
about two years assembling
the greenfield
development site.
The 1,500-acre
(600-hectare) plot of land sits at the northeastern edge of
the city and until March 2 was partially part of the neighbouring
municipality of Central Elgin. Provincial legislation
redrew the borders around the city this month to put
the entire site within St. Thomas.
Vic Fedeli, the province's minister of economic development,
job creation and trade, told Automotive News
Canada in early March that putting the megasite under
St. Thomas
'Epoch' of auto
investment could
rival past growth
eras such as the
arrival of Honda
and Toyota
By DAVID KENNEDY
T ORONTO BUREAU CHIEF
The 1,500-acre site where Volkswagen plans to build
its battery-cell plant is nearly the size of St. Thomas
itself. IMAGE: GOOGLE
one local government was the final component needed to
attract the next big investor to the province.
At 1,500 acres, the site is large even compared with
other sprawling automotive campuses in Ontario.
SEVEN TIMES THE AREA OF STELLANTIS' BATTERY SITE
Toyota Motor Manufacturing Canada Inc.'s complex in
Woodstock, Ont., for instance, is roughly 1,000 acres (400
hectares). In Alliston, Ont., Honda of Canada Mfg.'s threeplant
campus sits on 890 acres (360 hectares). The recently
announced Nextstar Energy Inc., battery plant being built
in Windsor will occupy 220 acres (89 hectares).
The entire site in St. Thomas " is intended for
Volkswagen, " Fedeli said March 13.
The latest battery supply-chain investment in Canada
comes as VW firms up its North American EV priorities.
On March 3, the automaker announced plans to build
a US $2 billion assembly plant in Blythewood, S.C., that
will assemble battery-electric SUVs and pickups for
Volkswagen's new Scout Motors brand.
Volkswagen already builds the ID4 electric crossover in
Chattanooga, Tenn. Other models, including a large crossover,
are expected to be produced at the plant.
The company said Canada offers the " ideal conditions "
to support Volkswagen's North American electrification
plans. VW pointed to local supplies of raw materials and
wide access to clean electricity as two of the key rationales
for putting the plant in St. Thomas.
Volkswagen's investment brings to six the number
of major automakers with manufacturing footprints in
Ontario. The others are Stellantis, Ford, General Motors,
Honda and Toyota. - ANC
- With files from Larry P. Vellequette and Reuters
VOLKSWAGEN GROUP'S
plan to build a new battery
cell plant in St. Thomas,
Ont., announced
March 13, is part
of a new chapter
for Canada that
will likely see more
automakers put
down roots in the
country, industry
experts say.
This new " epoch "
of auto investment
could rival other
past growth eras,
such as the arrival
of Honda and
Toyota, which both
built assembly
plants in Ontario
in the 1980s, said
Brendan Sweeney,
managing director
ed the commitment as the
country's largest-ever auto
investment.
" This is a completely
new chapter in our auto
sector, " he said.
NEW WAVE OF SPENDING
Sweeney:
" This is a
Volkswagen will become
the first automaker from
Europe to establish a manufacturing
foothold in
Canada, a significant milestone
because it comes
amid stiff competition from
large incentives offered in
the United States,
Sweeney said.
" This is a greenfield
investment, and
so it is a good indication
of just how competitive
we are. It is
not only our incumbent
manufacturers
that are choosing to
invest. "
greenfield
investment,
and so it
is a good
indication
of just how
competitive
we are. "
FILE PHOTO
of the Trillium Network for
Advanced Manufacturing.
" We're going to look back
upon this as one of, if not
the most, exciting times for
Canada's automotive industry,
especially because it
came after a couple dark
years. "
Trillium is a nonprofit
organization that promotes
Ontario manufacturing,
Details of the
Volkswagen plant have not
been released, but Federal
Industry Minister FrançoisPhilippe
Champagne toutThe
automaker's
plan for St. Thomas
follows a wave of
other automotive
spending in Ontario
and Quebec that
amounts to about
$20 billion over the
past two years.
Canada has proven
it has " plenty " to offer
prospective investors, said
Sam Fiorani, vice-president
of global vehicle forecasting
at U.S.-based AutoForecast
Solutions. Among other
draws, he said, is the
renewed push from the federal
and provincial governments
to draw investors
into the country.
" They have raised their
profile to global automakers.
Volkswagen is just the
newest member to join that
group, but it shouldn't be
the last. " - ANC
Magna's big business building battery enclosures for EVs
CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1
northwest of Toronto will cover
nearly 500,000 square feet (45,000
square metres)
and employ 560
people once at
full capacity. It
will build lightweight
aluminum
battery enclosures
for the Ford
F-150 Lightning
and support
future programs
of the automaker,
Magna said.
John O'Hara,
president of
Magna's body
and chassis division
Cosma, told
Automotive News
Canada the new
In late 2021, the Aurora, Ont.based
supplier announced that
it would build the enclosures for
the electrified pickup. The housings
protect high-voltage batteries,
electrical components and
sensors from the elements.
Wilds:
Magna is
making the
investments
to meet
demand in
new and
existing
products.
SUPPLIED
PHOTO
Brampton plant will support
the " third tranche " of the F-150
Lightning program over a roughly
two-year period. A Magna
plant in St. Thomas, outside
London, Ont., is already building
the enclosure for the first two
stages of the program, he added.
NEXT UP, SUPPORTING OAKVILLE
Magna's new Brampton plant
will then shift its focus to support
Ford's Oakville assembly
plant southwest of Toronto.
O'Hara said the site will " ramp
up " battery-enclosure production
for the electric Ford Explorer
and Lincoln Aviator.
Ford has not officially confirmed
the two models for the
plant, but in 2020 it pledged to
spend $1.8 billion at Oakville
Assembly to begin building
unnamed battery-electric vehicles
starting in 2024.
In November, industry analyst
Sam Fiorani of U.S.-based
AutoForecast Solutions expected
the electric Explorer and Aviator
to be built in Oakville beginning
in 2024 following a retooling project.
Magna
has won battery-enclosure
contracts for the Chevrolet
Silverado EV and GMC Hummer
EV. The enclosures will be built
at another new Magna facility in
St. Clair, Mich., about 80 kilometres
north of Detroit.
The company's official list of
battery enclosure contract wins
ends there, but O'Hara said there
are more " in the pipeline. "
Magna's spending on the new
Brampton plant accounts for
$265 million of the nearly half-billion-dollar
investment, according
to the Ontario Ministry of
Economic Development, Job
Creation and Trade. The plant
is scheduled to begin producing
enclosures in the second quarter.
The spending by the homegrown
auto parts giant is " another
tremendous show of confidence "
in the province's auto
sector, said Ontario Premier
Doug Ford.
" Together with our industry
partners, we're putting Ontario
back on the map as we build up
Ontario's electric-vehicle supply
chain from mining to manufacturing, "
Ford said in a release.
The province contributed $23.6
Magna International will spend more than half the $470-million
investment on a new factory in Brampton to produce enclosures
that protect batteries from the elements. RENDERING: MAGNA
million to the six-plant capital
spending program.
Aside from the investment
in Brampton, Magna will add
new capabilities to plants in
Belleville, Guelph, Newmarket,
Penetanguishene and Windsor.
The largest of these projects
will be in Guelph, where Magna
plans a 120,000-square-foot
(11,000-square-metre) expansion
of an exteriors plant. The work
will add e-coat, molding and
welding capacity while creating
175 jobs. As with Brampton, production
is expected to start in the
second quarter.
Magna operates 49 manufacturing
plants in Canada, employing
more than 20,000 workers. It
ranks No. 4 on the sibling publication
Automotive News' list of
the top 100 global suppliers.
- ANC
Automotive News Canada - March 2023

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Automotive News Canada - March 2023
