Automotive News Canada - June 2023 - 28

28
* JUNE 2023
MintList platform links sellers to
dealers with 30-minute auctions
CONTINUED FROM PAGE 3
ly, and time is added to the clock
as last-minute bids filter in, ending
only when the auction " runs
out of steam, " Wood said.
For dealerships, the short auctions
save the time normally
spent scouring for used inventory
while also providing access
to consumer vehicles that otherwise
would end up on classified
sites such as Craigslist or Kijiji.
ca.
SELLERS CAN WATCH THE BIDDING
" You sit at your desk. You
didn't have to drive across town
to look at one car, then drive to
the other end to look at another
car " as you compete against
" four other dealers that are
doing the exact same thing, "
Wood said.
For consumers - who can,
and often do, watch the bids filter
in over the 30-minute auction
- it offers transparency and
reassurance that dealers aren't
trying to undercut them.
" If they watch their car start
at $10,200 and top out at $12,900
- maybe $13,100 - they get an
understanding that that's probably
the value of their car, " Wood
said.
Consumers have 24 hours to
accept or reject the top bid.
Those who take it have the
choice of simply selling the vehicle
to the top-bidding dealership
for cash, or trading in their
car to any of the dealerships on
on the platform. Several subscription
levels offer perks to
dealerships, such as lower transaction
fees, in exchange for a
monthly charge.
TORONTO LAUNCH
Wood: MintList offers
" complete transparency on
what your car is worth " and
soon will extend that service
beyond Western Canada and
into the Greater Toronto Area.
PHOTO: MINTLIST
MintList's platform that have a
vehicle they want.
Since buyers only pay harmonized
sales tax on the price
difference between their tradein
and the new vehicle, there's
extra incentive for the trade-in
route, Wood said.
For trade-ins, MintList gives
priority to the dealership making
the sale, meaning even if it
wasn't the top bidder for the consumer's
vehicle, it can purchase
the car at the agreed-upon price.
If the dealership doesn't want
the trade-in, it simply passes it
on to the dealership that won at
auction.
Consumers pay nothing for
the service, while MintList
charges dealerships a transaction
fee of up to two per cent on
the consumer vehicles they buy
MintList, which currently has
24 employees, has been running
in B.C. for about a year and in
Alberta for about six months. It's
currently selling about 100 used
vehicles to registered dealers in
the two provinces each month,
and Wood expects volumes to
continue picking up as MintList
signs up a larger pool of dealerships.
In
Ontario, the company will
launch in the Greater Toronto
Area. As of early June, MintList
had signed up 26 dealerships
and expects to add more in the
coming weeks to create a critical
mass of buyers to take part in
the auctions.
A number of large dealership
groups, including the
Dilawri Group of Cos. and the
Humberview Group, have signed
on at least some of their stores.
Most dealerships see using
the platform as a simple way
to attract trade-in buyers and
bolster used-vehicle inventories
without making major new
investments in personnel or
time, Wood said.
" You're not going to win 100
per cent of the cars, " he said,
" but you're going to win more
cars, more efficiently, at a lower
cost. " - ANC
GM's $280M investment shows long-term
commitment to Oshawa Assembly
CONTINUED FROM PAGE 3
tial investment.
GM announced the Oshawa
retooling in November 2020 after
contract negotiations that the fall,
and had the
lines running a
year later.
Fiorani:
The potential
exists for
Oshawa
Assembly
to be the
" last factory
converted to
build electric
models. "
FILE PHOTO
" When people
said auto-making
was finished
in Oshawa back
in 2018, we said
'no chance.' Not
only has this
facility risen
from the proverbial
ashes, it has
become a symbol
of Canada's
relentlessness,
its drive and
desire to build
an economy we
can be proud
of, " Unifor
President Lana Payne said after
the GM announcement, June 6.
The rebirth of Oshawa
Assembly was one of the most
rapid plant launches in GM history,
" demonstrating the flexibility
and agility of the Oshawa workforce, "
GM Canada President
Marissa West said in a statement.
Since the plant reopened, GM
Canada says it created 2,600 new
TRANS-CANADA NEWS
5,000 KILOMETRES OF STORIES
CONTINUED FROM PAGE 3
Kitchener-Waterloo
Porsche preview
WATERLOO, ONT. -
Porsche Cars Canada is getting
ahead of the opening
of its new Porsche Centre
Kitchener-Waterloo with a
temporary outlet that will
feature a design centre and
fitting lounge until the new
dealership opens for business
in the fall.
" It will allow customers
the ability to interact with
the brand and begin a relationship
with the [new centre's]
team " before the opening
of the permanent facility,
Porsche Canada CEO John
Cappella said in a release.
The permanent dealership,
to be operated by
the Brampton, Ont.-based
Policaro Group, will join
Porsche's existing network
of 21 outlets across Canada
later this year. It will be the
group's second Porsche outlet,
after Porsche Centre
Oakville. - Joe Knycha
Alberta company
partners with Linamar
CALGARY- EXRO
Technologies Inc. has struck
a commercialization deal
with Canadian parts supplier
Linamar Corp. for their jointly
developed integrated electric
axle.
The eAxle uses Exro's Coil
Driver traction inverter that
is designed to increase torque
at low speeds. The two companies
are targeting the medium-duty
commercial-EV market
and aiming to begin deliveries
by the end of 2024.
Unlike traditional powertrains
in which the motor
and inverter are separate,
the eAxle, developed over
two years, combines an electric
motor, gears and inverter
within the drive axle, reducing
complexity, maintenance
costs and energy consumption.
- Steve Mertl
Oshawa Assembly builds light- and heavy-duty Chevrolet
Silverados. GM Canada announced a $280-million investment
to build the next generation of pickups there. GM CANADA
manufacturing jobs and thousands
of indirect jobs at Canadian
suppliers. Production has
increased to three shifts, and 50
per cent of new production hires
are women.
" Oshawa Assembly plays a
critical role in meeting customer
demand for GM's popular fullsize
trucks, helping GM lead the
Canadian industry in heavy-duty
truck sales in 2022 and take an
early lead in total truck sales for
2023, " West said. " Today, we are
proud to say we will continue to
build pickups with Oshawa pride
for years to come. "
The plant will continue to build
the light-duty and heavy-duty versions
of the Chevrolet Silverado,
said Sam Fiorani, vice-president,
global vehicle forecasting at U.S.based
AutoForecast Solutions.
" Because of Oshawa's position
to provide incremental
capacity for the trucks, the
potential remains for the plant
to be the last factory converted
to build electric models. Trucks
with ICE engines will stay in
production at that plant through
the end of this decade, as long
as demand for them remains
strong. " - ANC
Electric buses to
power crisis centres
CHARLOTTETOWN -
Prince Edward Island,
Canada's smallest province,
is taking steps to mitigate
future disaster-related
power outages by using
its fleet of 82 electric school
buses. It's working on a pilot
project with Saint-Jérôme,
Que.-based Lion Electric to
power emergency community
centres during mass
power outages, as happened
in 2022 during Post-tropical
Sandra Payne, manager
of the birthing unit at the
Southlake Regional Health
Centre, and Tony Facciolo,
chair of the Honda Canada
Foundation, with one of
the hospital's new Panda
Warmers.
PHOTO: HONDA CANADA
storm Fiona. Using vehicleto-grid
(V2G) bi-directional
current technology installed
in the LionC buses, V2Genabled
chargers draw from
the buses' batteries to power
emergency centres.
The first pilot site is the
North Rustico Lions Club on
the province's north shore,
which is exposed to the elements.
After Fiona, the club
used diesel-generated power
to feed up to 300 people a day
and provide a space for people
to congregate, warm up
and recharge their electronic
devices.
Testing to date suggests
two charged buses
could power the centre for
three days, reports CBC
Charlottetown.
The province will add 125
new LionC buses to its fleet
over the next five years.
- Joe Knycha
Honda funds new tech
for maternity ward
NEWMARKET, ONT. -
The neonatal intensive care
unit at Southlake Regional
Health Centre is getting new
equipment to care for infants
with the help of a $300,000
donation from the Honda
Canada Foundation.
The charitable support
means the hospital will purchase
three Panda Warmers,
a device that creates a temperature-controlled
environment
for newborns and monitors
key health metrics, such
as weight and oxygen saturation
levels.
About 500 of the 2,600
babies born at Southlake
each year require an added
level of care. The Panda
Warmers, which arrived in
time for Mother's Day, will
replace aging equipment at
the hospital.
- David Kennedy
North Rustico Lion's Club members are testing how well
electric buses can be used to power community shelters
during electricity outages. PHOTO: GOVERNMENT OF P.E.I.
Automotive News Canada - June 2023

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