Automotive News Canada - November 2023 - 1

AUTOMOTIVE TECH REVOLUTION IS OPENING DOORS FOR WOMEN/P23
NOVEMBER 2023 | VOL. 7, NO. 11 | AUTOMOTIVENEWS.CA FOR BREAKING NEWS AND DIGITAL EDITION
AWARDS NIGHT/P20-22
2023 BEST DEALERSHIPS TO WORK FOR
AWARDS NIGHT/P20-22
New threat: China, via Mexico
By GREG LAYSON
DIGITAL AND MOBILE EDITOR
AUTO COMPANIES FROM
China are using Mexico as a back
door to the U.S. market, undermining
the industry in Canada
and the United States, warns the
Automotive Parts Manufacturers'
Association (APMA).
" An assertive series of straA
string of investments designed to skirt the
USMCA gives favourable tariff treatment to
Chinese vehicles built in North America
tegic moves by Chinese stateowned
and controlled interests
within the North American automotive
market through Mexico
...threaten to displace market-driven
industry players, " said
UAW VS. UNIFOR
WHO WON?
The 2023 Detroit Three negotiations have inspired plenty
of debate, so it's time to address the elephant in the room:
Did U.S. or Canadian autoworkers get the better deal?
RELATED
STORIES/P8
2023 CANADIAN
BARGAINING WRAPUP
THE RETOOLING OF
BARGAINING WRAPUP
THE RETOOLING OF
STELLANTIS PLANTS IN
BRAMPTON AND WINDSOR
PHOTOS: GETTY IMAGES
By DAVID KENNEDY
T ORONTO BUREAU CHIEF
THROUGH FOUR MONTHS OF
tense contract talks, Unifor and the
UAW took their own distinct paths
to landmark deals with the Detroit
Three. But as a rare round of overlapping
auto bargaining wraps up
in Canada and the United States,
did one union walk away with a
superior agreement?
The answer, labour experts
say, isn't a simple yes or no, as the
unions were bargaining on different
timelines, in different currencies
and from disparate starting
points.
What's indisputable, said
Barry Eidlin, an associate professor
of sociology at McGill University in
Montreal, is that Unifor and the UAW
secured the best deals they've landed
in recent memory.
Eidlin:
The UAW
contract
has the
edge over
Unifor's,
especially
regarding
temporary
workers.
FILE PHOTO
" These are head and shoulders
above anything that's been negotiated
in the auto sector since well before
the '08 recession, " he told Automotive
News Canada.
Making a distinction between the
Unifor and UAW agreements is like
weighing the difference between a
" really good contract and a life-changing
contract, " Eidlin said. But ultimately,
he would give the edge to
gains made in the United States.
SEE UNIFOR PAGE 26
Dealers should plan to sell brands from China, analyst says
By DAVID KENNEDY
T ORONTO BUREAU CHIEF
CANADIAN RETAILERS SHOULD
embrace the prospect of representing
automakers based in China, as BYD
Co., Chery Automobile Co., SAIC
Motor and other major companies
prepare to plant their flags in North
America, according to auto analyst
Joe McCabe.
" Don't shun the idea, because that
might be your next customer in the
Industry trends favour
China-based brands,
which are ahead of North
America in the EV shift
future, or the next dealership you'll
open up in the future, " McCabe, CEO
of U.S.-based AutoForecast Solutions,
told attendees at the Automotive News
Canada Retail Forum in Toronto on
Oct. 23. Automakers from China have
begun making headway in Europe, but
2023 RETAIL FORUM
KEY ISSUES FACING THE INDUSTRY/P18-19
several have had false starts breaking
into North America.
Nevertheless, they won't give up
and industry trends are on their side,
McCabe said. The shift to electric vehicles
- China-based car companies
have a head start - as well as the erosion
of brand loyalty among North
several have had false starts breaking
American consumers will continue to
give overseas car companies a leg up
as they formulate strategies to break
into the United States and Canada,
McCabe added.
" This idea of trusting a vehicle
maker because they've been doing it
for 120-plus years has gone away. . . . It
has allowed for brand-new players to
enter the market and will continue to
allow them in. "
SEE NEW BRANDS PAGE 18
McCabe:
BYD is
likely to lead
the charge
among
China
brands
aiming to
put down
roots.
FILE PHOTO
APMA President Flavio Volpe.
He called it a " displacement
strategy by Chinese manufacturers,
leveraging state ownership
SEE NORTH AMERICA PAGE 28
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