Automotive News Canada - February 2024 - 6

6
* FEBRUARY 2024
Stingray adds autos -and
karaoke -to a growing playlist
Globally, 2.5 million
drivers can sing along,
but the company
expects its content
- which includes a
new trivia app - to be
installed in five million
cars in the next year
By DAVID KENNEDY
T ORONTO BUREAU CHIEF
THE MUSIC, MEDIA AND
advertising company Stingray
Group Inc. is finding its automotive
rhythm as vehicle makers
look to turn up the volume on
in-cabin entertainment.
Riley:
In
addition to
the karaoke
app, Stingray
offers drivers
Calm Radio
to make
driving more
relaxing.
Another app
gaining in
popularity:
a trivia game.
SUPPLIED
PHOTO
The Montreal
company, which
got its start in the
sector with Tesla
Inc. in 2019, added
the fast-growing
electric-vehicle
maker BYD Co.
of China to its list
of customers last
summer and has
" a lot more " bigname
brands set
to sign on in 2024,
said Jim Riley,
Stingray's president
of U.S. sales.
" It's still a relatively
new thing
for us, but it's
moving very, very
quickly, " he said.
Stingray holds
global rights to an
array of music and video content,
which it has traditionally licensed
to TV and radio clients and more
recently to online players such as
Amazon Prime Video.
But as touchscreens earn a permanent
place on vehicle consoles,
the company has found fertile
ground for automotive expansion,
primarily by providing a modern
twist to singing along with the
radio.
Stingray Karaoke is already
running in about 2.5 million vehicles
globally, spurred by partTRENDING
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WEB COVERAGE
JBUYERS MAKING CHEAPER CHOICES?
AUTO THEFT
The federal government in mid-February pledged to combat the rise in
auto theft in Ontario and Quebec, providing millions of dollars to fight the
problem and slow the leak at the Port of Montreal.
Stingray's app
screen, featuring
its music and
video content,
made its
automotive debut
in Tesla vehicles
in 2019 and now
appears in hundreds
of thousands of electric vehicles
produced by China's BYD.
SCREEN GRABS: STINGRAY GROUP
nerships with Tesla, Audi and
VinFast. In the next year, the company
expects five million vehicles
to include Karaoke or another of
Stingray's in-vehicle apps.
A deepening relationship with
BYD is one way to get there.
In August, Stingray signed
an initial deal that will embed
Stingray Karaoke in all BYD vehicles
globally. An over-the-air rollout
was scheduled to start for
300,000 of the company's vehicles
across Europe and Latin America
in late January, with other markets
to follow.
A SINGALONG FOR 300,000
The final version of the Stingray
Karaoke app that will live on
BYD's infotainment system was
a collaborative effort designed to
balance entertainment value with
avoiding distracted driving. The
app displays scrolling song lyrics
on vehicle centre consoles when
in park mode but deactivates the
feature when cars are on the road
LINCOLN LOOKS TO TURN AROUND THE AVIATOR
A LARGER TOUCHSCREEN, MORE TECHNOLOGY AND SOME
design updates are changes aimed at helping the Lincoln Aviator
crossover rebound from a
down sales year. It will retain
PHOTO: LINCOLN
to prevent driver distraction.
Passengers can scan an on-screen
QR code, however, which pushes
the lyrics to their phones.
Stingray's earlier track record
with karaoke for TV and smartphones
made the migration to
vehicles relatively seamless, Riley
said, while the company's global
rights to thousands of songs
appealed to automakers.
" Companies that operate around
the world, they want content they
can use everywhere, not just in
one place, " he said.
In Tesla vehicles, for instance,
Stingray Karaoke is available globally,
with the exception of China,
Riley said.
The Tesla partnership got off
the ground after the two companies
" put their heads together " on
how to best make what Tesla CEO
Elon Musk had dubbed " Caraoke "
a reality.
While automotive remains a relatively
small portion of Stingray's
overall business, the segment is
SEE KARAOKE PAGE 11
Report ranks Canada No. 1 for battery supply-chain potential
By DAVID KENNEDY
T ORONTO BUREAU CHIEF
CANADA'S WEALTH OF RAW MATERIALS, ITS
inherent integration with the U.S. auto sector and
recent policy commitments give it " an edge " over other
countries - including China - competing for the hundreds
of billions of dollars in battery investments as
the electric-vehicle transition accelerates, according to
research firm BloombergNEF.
The " friendshoring " approach taken in the U.S.
Inflation Reduction Act, which gives trade partners
preferential treatment when importing batteries or battery
materials, is another " big " win for Canada, according
to the BNEF report released Feb. 5.
China had secured the top spot in the global battery
rankings in each of the three previous years, with
Canada a close second in the 2023 assessment.
Growing emphasis on how cleanly batteries are produced,
however, is weighing on China's dominance of
the global battery market, BNEF said in a release.
" While China still has the strongest established supply
chain, the increasing importance of sustainability
across the life cycle of lithium-ion batteries means the
region must take a more proactive approach to tackle
[environmental, social, and corporate governance]
issues to benefit its supply chain in the long term. "
Canada has put its clean electricity supply and strong
environmental record front and centre in pitches to prospective
battery investors. So far, Canada has secured
investments for three battery cell-manufacturing plants
and a range of battery material and componentry plants
to support them.
The BNEF rankings cover 30 countries, weighing factors
such as downstream demand, raw material supply,
production footprint and environmental credentials, to
determine the countries with the greatest potential for
building lithium-ion batteries.
The United States and Germany placed third and
fourth, respectively, in this year's rankings. Finland and
South Korea tied for fifth. - ANC
its twin-turbocharged 3.0-litre
V-6 engine but will no longer
be offered in a hybrid variant.
U.S. sales fell 29 per cent
last year as Lincoln had to
cease production for weeks
because of a quality issue
related to a camera recall. Sales were down 10 per cent in Canada.
AUTOMATED PARKING GETS THE BOOT
FORD MOTOR CO. IS CUTTING COSTS AS PART OF A DRIVE TO
boost profitability and beat back inflation, including removing some
features, such as automated parallel parking, from its vehicles. Data
shows that the steering feature for getting into and out of tight parking
spaces isn't that popular among drivers. Removing it saves Ford US
$60 (Cdn $80) per vehicle, the company said.
GM WILL USE HYBRIDS AS A BRIDGE TO EVS
AFTER PREVIOUSLY CALLING HYBRIDS A
" half-step " it could skip en route to a future of electric
vehicles, General Motors is changing its strategy
amid weaker-than-anticipated EV demand
and the likelihood of tougher emissions rules this
decade. CEO Mary Barra said GM will bring back
plug-in hybrids as a bridge to zero emissions. She
did not disclose which segments the company
will target with plug-in technology, where hybrids
would be built or when they would arrive.
Barra
FILE PHOTO
OFF-ROAD TRIM MATCHES EQUINOX'S NEW LOOK
CHEVROLET IS GIVING ITS BESTSELLING CROSSOVER A
more rugged makeover for the 2025 model year as it looks to
attract more buyers in a
competitive and growing
segment. The Equinox,
Chevrolet's No. 2 nameplate
in the United States
and No. 3 in Canada,
behind the Bolt, is gaining
an off-road-inspired
Activ trim and a trucklike
stance shared with other
.D. Power Canada reports the average transaction price in Canada has
fallen over four consecutive months, although it's still close to $50,000.
The company also reports that average monthly lease payments fell in the
last three months.
PHOTO: CHEVROLET
Chevrolet crossovers. Production of the fourth-generation Equinox
is expected to begin midyear at General Motors' San Luis Potosi
plant in Mexico, Chevrolet said. Pricing has not been announced.
$1.35B PLANT TO FILL EV SUPPLY-CHAIN GAP
MINING COMPANY CANADA NICKEL CO. PLANS TO DEVELOP
a nickel processing plant in Ontario that would cost about $1.35 billion.
It would be North America's largest once it's completed. The company
also plans to build a stainless steel and alloy production plant to process
nickel and chromium concentrate, which would cost an additional
$2.7 billion, according to CEO Mark Selby. The plans aim to fill a gap
in North America's electric vehicle supply chain. - ANC
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Automotive News Canada - February 2024

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