Automotive News Canada - June 2023 - 3

* JUNE 2023
3
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'We will continue to
build pickups with
Oshawa pride for years
to come,' GM Canada
president said
By GREG LAYSON
DIGITAL AND MOBILE EDITOR
GENERAL MOTORS ANNOUNCED
June 6 it will retool the Oshawa
Assembly Plant northeast of Toronto to
Nominations
open for
diversity
champions
A NEW PROGRAM BY
Automotive News Canada
aims to recognize executives
in the auto industry
who have demonstrated
their commitment to
improving diversity, equity
and inclusion in the workplace
and their communities.
The
Notable Champions
of Diversity program seeks
individuals with compelling
stories who are driving
significant change.
Self-nominations are
also welcome at www.automotivenews.ca
under the
Awards & Events tab, or
via a QR code.
The portal closes
on July 31.
Honorees
will be featured
online
and in a future
edition of
Automotive
News Canada.
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COMPLETE THE
NOMINATION
FORM
build the next generation
of internal combustion
engine (ICE)
full-size pickups.
The automaker
said that product
details and timing
related to the vehicles
are not being
released.
The $280-million
investment builds
on GM's commitment
to Canadian
manufacturing,
GM Canada
President
Marissa
West did
not provide
product
details or a
timeline.
FILE PHOTO
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GM Oshawa getting $280M upgrade
which includes more than $1.2 billion
invested in the Oshawa plant during
its retooling to build the current
Chevrolet Silverado.
GM announced in November 2018
that vehicle production at Oshawa
would cease. The previous-generation
Silverado was assembled there until
the end of 2019.
The plant was largely shuttered in
2020, although GM kept the lights on
with a new aftermarket parts operation,
leaving the door open for potenSEE
GM PAGE 28
MintList lets consumers auction
their vehicles to registered
dealers without leaving their
driveway
Online auction
makes bid beyond B.C.
By DAVID KENNEDY
T ORONTO BUREAU CHIEF
AUTO TECH STARTUP
MintList will launch
its used-vehicle auction
and trade-in platform
in Ontario in mid-July,
as the Vancouver-based
company takes its first
step outside Western
Canada.
CEO Mike Wood said
the online tool is not
designed to disrupt the
dealership model but to
cut out the " ugly bits " of
transactions for both consumers
looking to sell or
trade in their used vehicles
and dealerships looking
to buy them.
" It's not that blackbox
algorithm anymore, "
Wood said. " It's complete
transparency on what
your car is worth. "
The platform, already
operating in British
Columbia and Alberta,
lets consumers auction
their vehicles to registered
dealers without
ever leaving their driveway.
The
process begins
with sellers taking a
series of photos and
answering a set of questions
that show the condition
of their vehicle,
Wood said. MintList compiles
this information,
along with a Carfax vehicle-history
report and
factory data, and assigns
the vehicle a grade from
TRANS-CANADA NEWS 5,000 KILOMETRES
OF STORIES
Buyers steadily moving
toward EV acceptance
SOME 44 PER CENT OF
Canadian car buyers would consider
buying an electric vehicle, up
15 percentage points from a year
ago, an Ipsos survey conducted this
spring for Canadian Black Book
(CBB) has found.
While more than half of those surveyed
still said an EV was unlikely
to make it onto their shopping list,
that number is shrinking, CBB said.
Half of men polled would consider
an EV, compared with 38 per
cent of women. Interest in EVs also
declined with increasing age and
lower levels of education, the survey
found. Concern about access to
charging was the biggest stumbling
block, while high costs were another
concern.
The survey polled 1,005
Canadians who own or lease a vehicle
and are looking to buy within
two years. - Steve Mertl
Nova Bus books Canada's
biggest electric-bus deal
SAINT-EUSTACHE, QUE. -
Ten public transit organizations in
Quebec, including Société de transNova
Bus plans to assemble the all-electric buses at
its plant in the Montreal suburb of Saint-Eustache.
PHOTO: NOVA BUS
port de Montréal, finalized a purchase order worth up to
$2.1 billion with Volvo Group subsidiary Nova Bus.
The deal, announced May 8, includes a firm order for
339 of the company's LFSe+ electric buses, with options
one to five.
" The whole idea is
to vet the cars enough
for the dealers that they
can bid comfortably on
that car, and they know
roughly what their reconditioning
[costs] are
going to be, " Wood said.
Vehicles are then
brought before dealers
virtually. Currently,
MintList runs 30-minute
auctions with participating
dealerships twice
weekly in B.C. and once a
week with dealerships in
Alberta.
Dealers can see the
stores they are competing
against so they know
they aren't bidding blindSEE
MINTLIST PAGE 28
Steele ends
All EV after less
than two years
Effective June 1, the move
came after 'careful consideration
and evaluation of the current
market conditions'
By GREG LAYSON
DIGITAL AND MOBILE EDITOR
ATLANTIC CANADA'S LARGEST DEALERSHIP
group is getting out of the used electric vehicle business,
citing " lack of demand for EVs in the market. "
Steele Auto Group of Dartmouth, N.S., announced
the end of its All EV business via
posts on Instagram and Facebook.
" After careful consideration and
evaluation of the current market
conditions, unfortunately, Steele
Auto Group has made the difficult
decision to discontinue the All EV
business, effective June 1, 2023. "
The move came less than two
years after it acquired the chain.
" Since the acquisition of All EV
in July 2021, we have endeavoured
to consistently deliver exceptional
quality and maintain strong relationships
with our clients. "
On July 26, 2021, Steele bought All
EV Canada, which stocked mostly
used Teslas. Two locations were purchased:
Burnside, N.S., and a store
in Stratford, PEI.
03
06.23
At the time
of the All EV
purchase,
Steele Auto
Group COO
Kim Day
called it " an
opportunity
to accelerate
adoption. "
FILE PHOTO
Two months later, Steele said it would move the
Burnside location to " a spectacular new location in
Halifax. " It then added All EV locations in Corner
Brook and St. John's, Nfld., and Fredericton, N.B.
" However, the lack of demand for EVs in the market
has made it increasingly challenging for us to sustain
operations and remain profitable. "
A spokesperson for the group was not available for
comment.
Steele believed in the 2021 purchase of All EV. COO
Kim Day told Automotive News Canada the expansion
was " an opportunity to accelerate adoption of EVs in
our markets. "
It isn't clear if Steele plans to sell the stores, nor
is it clear what happened to staff. The group owns 51
new-vehicle dealerships in Canada and nine in Texas.
- ANC
to purchase up to 890 more, making
it the largest electric bus
deal announced to date in North
America, according to the company.
The
buses will be delivered
over a three-year period, starting
in 2025.
Based in the Montreal suburb
of Saint-Eustache, Nova Bus has
fallen under the Volvo umbrella
since 1998, but continues to build
its buses in Quebec. The LFSe+
buses will be assembled at its
plant in Saint-Eustache, while
the frames will be built in SaintFrançois-du-Lac,
northeast of
Montreal. - David Kennedy
SEE TRANS-CANADA PAGE 28
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Automotive News Canada - June 2023

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