Automotive News Canada - December 2023 - 30

30
12.23
30
FINAL ASSEMBLY
* DECEMBER 2023
Flo plugs away
to hit 'significant
milestone'
Canadian company has
much bigger plans involving
the United States, however
CHARGING-SYSTEM MANUFACTURER
Flo has sold its 100,000th charging station.
According to an Oct. 26 story in Canadian
Manufacturing, Flo sold the charger, a
Home X5 station, to a customer in Toronto.
It's a " significant milestone, " Flo CEO
Louis Tremblay
said. The company
is based in Quebec
City.
" Since day one,
Flo has worked diligently
to expand
access to reliable EV
charging solutions
for the growing number
of EV drivers
on North American
roadways. "
Flo operates a
network of 75,000
stations in Canada
and opened a plant
in Michigan to put
250,000 stations in
the United States
by 2028. FILE PHOTO
Flo also operates a
Canadian network of
75,000 charging stations
with more on
the way.
In addition, the
company recently
expanded its manufacturing
operations
by opening a plant in
Auburn Hills, Mich.,
with the goal of bringing 250,000 charging
stations to the United States by 2028. The
plant is expected in 2024 to produce its first
Flo Ultra charger, a modern modular commercial
fast-charge station with touchscreens
and overhead lighting. - ANC
THIS NUMBER
900
The number of temporary foreign
workers that will be needed to
help launch the heavily subsidized
NextStar Energy battery-cell plant
in Windsor, Ont., according to the
company. SEE COLUMN/P10
The vast majority
of staff at both
automakers agree
their workplaces are
emotionally healthy
TWO CAR COMPANIES IN
Canada were recently named
to the top 100 list of Best
Workplaces for Mental Wellness
LETTING LOOSE
A BIT ON THE
WONDERFUL WORLD
OF AUTOMOTIVE
Winter tires
gain traction
As climate change doles out
the storms, Canadians are
less likely to tread lightly
MORE CANADIAN DRIVERS ARE
getting a grip on extreme weather, said the
Tire and Rubber Association of Canada.
A Nov. 13 release states that winter-tire
use outside Quebec - winter tires are
required by law in there - stands at 71 per
cent, an increase of 11 percentage points
from a year ago. The association tracks winter-tire
use, releasing
results each
November.
Rather than transporting his scooters to a hub to be recharged, Max
Rastelli uses his F-150 Lightning to charge them on the fly, resulting in
" near-zero downtime related to charging. " SUPPLIED PHOTOS
SCOOTER BUSINESS
GETS A JUMP-START
Halifax entrepreneur
turns his electric
pickup into a mobile
charging station
MAX RASTELLI IS AMPED UP
over his Ford F-150 Lightning.
Literally.
Rastelli founded HFX e-Scooters
in 2019, renting battery-powered
two-wheelers in Halifax. Until last
year, however, hauling the scooters
to a central charging hub was a
logistical challenge.
Over two years, Rastelli transformed
his business, first by introducing
new scooters with swappable
batteries in 2021, then adding
the F-150 Lightning in October
2022. With the pickup's 9.6-kilowatt
power supply, Rastelli is able to
charge the replaceable scooter batteries
on the fly.
" It became immediately clear to
me that the F-150 Lightning could
boost my business productivity
as a mobile battery-charging station, "
Rastelli said. " Thanks in part
to these trucks, I've been able to
double the number of e-scooters in
my fleet, with near-zero downtime
related to charging.
" It doesn't hurt [that] the truck is
a lot of fun to drive. "
Rastelli bought another Lightning
in June. - ANC
Hyundai, Nissan pass the stress test
2023 by the organization Great
Place to Work.
Hyundai Auto Canada and
Nissan Canada first had to be
certified as a Great Place to
Work: Employers complete a
questionnaire and then Great
Place to Work surveys staff to
confirm.
Employers must have at least
100 employees, and at least 80 per
cent must agree that their workplace
is psychologically and emotionally
healthy. Then survey
responses are analyzed to determine
the top 100 best workplaces.
Of the 264 employees at
Hyundai Auto Canada, 93 per
cent consider it a great place to
work. Nissan Canada, with 497
employees, wasn't far behind at
86 per cent.
Great Place to Work is a
for-profit global corporation
offering certification of workplace
well-being. - ANC
To make the top 100 list of Best Workplaces for Mental Wellness
2023, 80 per cent of employees had to agree that their workplace is
psychologically and emotionally healthy. Hyundai Auto Canada and
and Nissan Canada made the list. SUPPLIED PHOTO
The 2023 survey
also found
that 76 per cent of
Canadians believe
extreme winter
weather, linked to
climate change,
makes winter tires
more important.
" It seems
Canadian drivers
are recognizing
the changing
weather patterns
brought about by
climate change, "
said Carol Hochu,
the association's
president. " The
prospect of more
The Tire and Rubber
Association of Canada
said an increasing
number of drivers
think winter tires
are necessary. Their
use is mandatory in
Quebec. FILE PHOTO
extreme winter weather has clearly given
drivers a deeper appreciation of the superior
grip and stopping power offered by winter
tires. "
The association also tracks winter-tire use
by province: 73 per cent in British Columbia
and Alberta; 64 per cent in Manitoba and
Saskatchewan; 67 per cent in Ontario; and 94
per cent in Atlantic Canada. - ANC
'
the process
to meet the
customers
on their terms.
Michael Wyant, COO of Saskatoonbased
Wyant Group, on having to
retrain sales staff in a post-pandemic
market marked by higher vehicle
inventories. SEE STORY/P9
SAY WHAT?
It's retooling
It's retooling
'
Automotive News Canada - December 2023

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