Automotive News Canada - October 2023 - 56

56
10.23
56
FINAL ASSEMBLY
* OCTOBER 2023
Quebec dealers blast minister's
musings on vehicle ownership
Province denies that it
wants to cut the number
of cars on the road
PIERRE FITZGIBBON, QUEBEC'S
minister of the economy, innovation
and energy, raised the ire of the
province's dealers when he said the
number of cars on provincial roads
would need to be drastically reduced
to achieve carbon neutrality by 2050.
" Consumer habits need to change
significantly, " he said in a CBC story
published Aug. 16.
While Fitzgibbon did not specify
an official target, his comments
were condemned by the Corporation
des Concessionaires Automobiles du
Québec (CCAQ).
" Such remarks require clarification
from the minister,
given that Quebec's territorial
reality and public
transit supply necessarily
require access to an individual
vehicle for a majority
of Quebecers, " the
CCAQ said in a statement.
Premier François
Legault later walked back
Fitzgibbon's comments,
saying the province is not
targeting cars. The CCAQ
said it has since received
assurances the province
was not waging a war on
personal transportation.
" We understand ... the Quebec
government has no intention of taking
any initiatives in reducing the
amount of cars on the road, nor
impose a new tax to the Québécois
when it comes to their automobile, "
Fitzgibbon:
" Consumer
habits need
to change
significantly. "
FILE PHOTO
CCAQ President Ian P. Sam
Yue Chi told Automotive
News Canada in an email.
" This position is coherent
with the government's mission
to put two million electric
vehicles on its roads by
2030, as well as its efforts
to stimulate automotive-related
manufacturing in the
province. "
Maxime Beaucage,
vice-president of Equipe
Precision Auto, which operates
three dealerships in
Sherbrooke, said personal
transportation is a necessity
in rural areas.
" I cannot foresee how people in
this area can go about their daily
commute without owning a car.
We're not in Montreal here. We can't
rely on a metro system. " - ANC
LETTING LOOSE
A BIT ON THE
WONDERFUL WORLD
OF AUTOMOTIVE
22%
PHOTO: GETTY IMAGES
The increase in third-quarter light-vehicle sales
compared with the same period last year,
according to the Automotive News Research
& Data Center.
Tenants at complex told
e-scooters must scoot
The question: Can a landlord
dictate to tenants what personal
belongings they can have?
LATE-NIGHT EV COMEDY
VW's social media team pulls an all-nighter to post
real-time commentary and live responses
VOLKSWAGEN CANADA AND ITS
captive ad agency TAXI/Type1 turned
Quebec TV station Noovo's overnight
shutdown into a four-hour improv
sketch revolving around charging an
electric vehicle.
Starring comedian Pier-Luc Funk,
the Sans Émission (French for without
emissions) telecast was filmed in a single
take and featured comedy sketches
Comedian
Pier-Luc Funk
entertains
viewers on
TV station
Noovo while a
Volkswagen
ID4 charges.
SUPPLIED PHOTO
all while a Volkswagen ID4 charged on
the set. VW Canada's social media team
also pulled an all-nighter, posting realtime
commentary and live responses on
social media.
Sans Émission was promoted with
outdoor, online video and digital advertising
during the critical fall TV season.
It aired on Sept. 16 and is now available
for streaming on noovo.ca - ANC
A TORONTO HOUSING COMPLEX HAS BANNED
all electric personal-mobility vehicles - including
e-scooters, electric motorbikes, electric unicycles, hoverboards,
mopeds,
Segways and skateboard
scooters.
" If you have any of
these vehicles, please
remove them from
the premises immediately, "
reads a notice
posted at 120 Jameson
Ave. The notice says
the ban applies to
apartments, lockers,
the garage and parking
spaces. No reason was
provided.
But a tenant advocate
told CBC News
Sept. 17 that Ontario's
Residential Tenancies
Residents of a Toronto
housing complex have
been told that they can
no longer keep electric
personal-mobility vehicles
on the premises.
PHOTO: GETTY IMAGES
Act lacks language giving landlords the right to dictate
which forms of personal mobility are permitted.
" And these are small devices. A Segway is so tiny,
it's smaller than some vacuum cleaners, " said Douglas
Kwan, director of advocacy and legal services at
the Advocacy Centre for Tenants Ontario. " It seems
unreasonable for the landlord to act in this manner. "
Oberon Developments, owner of the complex,
declined to comment to CBC News.
Toronto Fire Services said that it has this year
responded to 47 fires involving lithium ion batteries,
10 of which took place in high-rise buildings,
CBC reported. - ANC
Racing series crosses the border to add a finish line
With a new U.S. race,
the Nissan Sentra Cup
is now international
THE NISSAN SENTRA CUP WILL
expand to include the Lime Rock
Park racetrack in Connecticut for
one event, starting in 2024, Nissan
Canada has announced.
Launched as the Nissan Micra
Cup in 2015, the series was renamed
in 2021 after the subcompact car was
discontinued in 2020. Nissan Canada
has renewed its sponsorship for the
Next year's Nissan Sentra Cup will
include an event in Connecticut.
SUPPLIED PHOTO
2024 and 2025 seasons.
" Next year, the Nissan Sentra
Cup will evolve again, this time
becoming a North American series,
since we will have an event in the
United States, " said series promoter
Jacques Deshaies. " The addition
of this track delighted drivers,
especially since next year, they will
share $30,000 in prize money. "
Lime Rock Park is about 60 kilometres
west of Hartford, Conn.
Each of the 33 drivers receives
race-ready Nissan Sentras built to the
same specifications. For 2023, the sixrace
series concluded with Alexandre
Fortin being named series champion
after a second-place finish in the last
race on Sept. 24.
The Micra class remains, with
Nicolas Lévesque taking the series
title. - ANC
'
SAY WHAT?
We cannot and
we will not settle for
less than pattern -
not today
- not ever.
Unifor President Lana Payne
after the union representing
workers at the Detroit Three
automakers in Canada
announced a strike against
General Motors on Oct 9.
A tentative deal was reached
the same day.
SCAN TO READ
THE STORY AT:
automotivenews.ca
'
http://www.noovo.ca http://www.automotivenews.ca
Automotive News Canada - October 2023

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