Automotive News Canada - March 2023 - 32

32
03.23
32
FINAL ASSEMBLY
* MARCH 2023
LETTING LOOSE A BIT ON THE WONDERFUL WORLD OF AUTOMOTIVE
The deal
with the
biggest jolt
U.S-based magazine
deems NextStar
venture 'the most
impactful' in Canada
THE NEW BATTERY PLANT IN
Windsor, Ont., has been named
the country's top Impact Business
Deal for 2022 by Business Facilities
Magazine.
The NextStar Energy plant - a
joint venture between Stellantis and
South Korea's LG Energy Solution
- was announced a year ago by the
federal, provincial and civic governments
and is currently under construction.
" There
was only one
category for Canada,
and this was
deemed the most
impactful, " Joe
Goncalves,
vice-president
of investment
attraction and
strategic initiatives
for Invest
WindsorEssex,
told the Windsor
Star in a Feb. 1 story.
" There was a lot of hard
work put into this by City Council,
all of Windsor-Essex, our partners
with the provincial and federal governments
and Invest WindsorEssex.
It's good for us all. "
The $5-billion plant, expected to
employ 2,500, is scheduled to begin
production in early 2024.
The annual awards are given by
the U.S.-based magazine for deals in
North America. - ANC
Hyundai Canada staff try to grab some shut-eye on the streets of Toronto the
night of March 2 in support of a fundraiser for 360 kids. The Hyundai team
contributed more than $80,000 to the $400,000 total raised to help provide
shelter and support for at-risk youth. SUPPLIED PHOTO
SLEEPING ON STREET
PROVIDES 'JUST A TASTE'
Auto execs raise
awareness and funds
for homeless youth
WHEN HYUNDAI CANADA CEO
Don Romano went to work March 3, he
was hoping for understanding from his
staff.
Having spent the previous night
" homeless, " participating in 360 Kids
fundraiser with only a sleeping bag and
bottle of water, Romano headed straight
to work in the morning.
" We're not allowed to shower or
re-dress, " he said March 2 as the night
was beginning. " Homeless people have
to go about their days without it, and in
some cases, have to go to work. "
The 360 Experience, which spanned
parts of Toronto from Newmarket
to Richmond Hill, raised more than
$400,000 to help provide shelter and support
for at-risk youth.
Romano said it provided " just a taste "
of homelessness.
" Look, we're given a part of it, but
imagine, I still go back to my home and
my bed and my office tomorrow, so I
can't tell you that we can relate to homelessness
other than we know the coldness
and difficulties associated with
being homeless in Toronto in the dead
of winter. "
Joining Romano were six of his top
executives, his product
marketing team,
representatives
from the company's
advertising agency
Innocean and staff
from all eight York
Region Hyundai dealerships.
Hyundai
Canada
CEO
Don Romano
and his wife,
Marilyn,
participate
in the 360
Experience.
SUPPLIED PHOTO
The Hyundai team
contributed more
than $80,000 to the
total. Romano's wife,
Marilyn, also took
part.
Romano appreciates
the work of
360 Kids.
" They're focused
on kids 13-26, some are homeless, some
need to escape bad situations at home.
They get them back on track, back into
society. If we keep doing that, we can
have a whole lot less homelessness in
the future. " - ANC
A slew of awards suggests that
Toyota Motor Manufacturing
Canada's reputation for quality
extends to the way it treats its
employees. FILE PHOTO
Toyota heaped
with awards for
employee TLC
Quality perks put the
automaker on a list of
top 100 employers
TOYOTA MOTOR MANUFACturing
Canada (TMMC) has long been
recognized inside the Toyota universe
for production quality - the
Cambridge, Ont., assembly plant was
the first outside Japan to be trusted
with building Lexus vehicles. Now
the company is being awarded for its
attention to employees.
TMMC, which also has a manufacturing
complex in Woodstock,
Ont., was named one of Canada's
Top 100 Employers, Top Employers
for Canadians Over 40, Canada's Top
Family-Friendly Employers and one
of the Waterloo Area's Top Employers
for 2023.
According to information released
by Canada's Top 100 Employers,
TMMC " leads the industry in offering
family-friendly benefits " such as a fitness
centre, an employee lounge with
game room, walking trails and a quiet
room for meditation. The company
also encourages staff to volunteer for
charity by offering paid time off, and
it offers $500 in seed money to employee
groups establishing their own initiatives.
The
awards are based on submissions
by the applicant companies that
are then judged against national standards.
Canada's Top 100 Employers
is a private company that for 2023
charged companies $1,576.35 (incl.
$181.35 HST) to apply. - ANC
Be my valentine - meet me in the van
Hotel rents out the
Nooner Shaggin' Wagon
for a 'lunchtime of love'
THIS NUMBER
350,214
The attendance for
the 2023 Canadian
International AutoShow.
That's a five-per-cent
increase over 334,194 in
2020, which was the last
time the event was held.
A VANCOUVER ISLAND HOTEL
notable for its Valentine's Day " nooner
package " - yes, it means exactly that -
took the show on the road, literally.
Hotel Zed in Tofino, 300 kilometres northwest
of Victoria, has offered its rooms to
couples on Valentine's Day from 11 a.m. to
2 p.m. and recently bought a pristine 1978
Chevrolet conversion van to provide a more
mobile experience; a quick romantic getaway
to secluded spots on Tofino's shores.
V-Day 2023 marked the first tour.
The Nooner Shaggin' Wagon, as the
hotel calls it, is straight out of the 1970s
van conversion craze, with a record player
and mood-inspiring LPs, playful games
and, appropriately, shag carpeting on the
The 1978 Chevrolet van put into service
on Valentine's Day by Hotel Zed.
SUPPLIED PHOTO
floor, walls and ceiling.
" Give the gift of their sexy selves for
Valentine's Day, with a lunchtime of
love, " Mandy Farmer, president of the
Hotel Zed and Accent Inns chain, cheekily
told driving.ca in a story published Feb.
10. Farmer found the van on bringatrailer.
com and " had to buy it. "
The three-hour packages were priced
at $69. - ANC
'
SAY WHAT?
I've seen dealers
work with their local utility
companies, invest in large
infrastructure upgrades, dig
trenches in their lots to get
cables run, new panels in the
dealership and new chargers
installed everywhere. So it
was not a task for the faint.
Mike Speranzini,
managing director
of Cadillac in
Canada, in
the March 17
Automotive News
Canada Podcast,
on the hurdles
dealers have
to overcome to
install EV charging
infrastructure
'
http://www.driving.ca
Automotive News Canada - March 2023

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