Automotive News Canada - June 2024 - 3

* JUNE 2024
3
SECOND FRONT
Magna founder Stronach denies sexual-assault allegations
The 91-year-old former
executive is charged in
connection with incidents
from the 1980s to 2023
AUTOMOTIVE NEWS CANADA
FRANK STRONACH, THE FOUNDER
and long-retired CEO of Magna
International, North America's biggest
auto parts supplier, has been charged in
connection with a sexual assault investigation
in the Toronto area, police said.
According to a statement June 7 by Peel
Regional Police, investigators from the
Special Victims Unit arrested and charged
the 91-year-old Stronach with rape, indeNominations
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online and in the December
edition of Automotive News Canada.
CORRECTION
Wes Burt, Toyota
Motor Manufacturing
Canada's product
control senior manager
of materials,
service and export,
was misidentified
in the May edition as West Burt.
Automotive News Canada
apologizes for the error.
cent assault on a female, sexual
assault and forcible confinement.
The
incidents are alleged to
have spanned from the 1980s to
as recently as 2023.
Stronach " categorically
denies all allegations that have
been brought against him, "
said Brian Greenspan, the
Toronto lawyer representing
the Magna founder.
" He looks forward to the
opportunity to fully respond
to the charges and to maintain
his legacy as a philanthropist
and as an icon of the Canadian
business community, "
Greenspan said in an email to
Stronach:
Released on
conditions
and will
appear in
court at a
later date,
according
to Toronto
media.
FILE PHOTO
Automotive News Canada.
Stronach has been released
on conditions and will appear at
the Ontario Court of Justice in
Brampton at a later date, according
to Toronto media reports.
MAGNA UNAWARE OF INVESTIGATION
Magna International, headquartered
in Aurora, near Toronto,
said in a statement it had no
knowledge of the investigation or
the allegations.
" Mr. Stronach has had no affiliation
with Magna since relinquishing
control in 2010, " the
Magna statement said.
" For now, as this is an ongoing
legal matter, we cannot provide
any further comment. "
Magna's roots trace back to a one-man
tool and die shop Austrian-born Stronach
set up in 1957. He has been a major owner
of horse-racing tracks and thoroughbreds
and played a role in Austrian politics.
More recently, Stronach launched Safe
Affordable Reliable Innovative Transport,
a company designed to build threewheeled,
single-seat electric vehicles in
the Greater Toronto Area.
Stronach was awarded the Order of
Canada in 1999. At the time of his investiture,
he was described as one who personified
" the great Canadian success story,
building his firm from a simple tool and
die shop based in his garage, into a leader
in the automotive parts and systems
industry. " - ANC
GM delays EV powertrains
The automaker is reviewing its strategy
to build Ultium units amid softening
EV interest, but verbal communication
to the union about it is 'very odd'
By GREG LAYSON
DIGITAL AND MOBILE EDITOR
GENERAL MOTORS IS
delaying plans to build electric-vehicle
motors at its St.
Catharines Propulsion Plant,
according to the union representing
hourly employees at the
factory in southern Ontario.
Unifor Local 199 Plant Chair
Trevor Longpre told members
in a memo posted online that the
company on May 22, " verbally
relayed news of a delay in the
[battery-electric vehicle] project
through group leaders without
providing any further details to
the membership or union leadership. "
GM
told Automotive News
Canada that it's reassessing
the situation at the factory, at
which, until this year, about
1,100 employees produced V-6
and V-8 engines as well as transmissions
used in vehicles built
in North America.
Unifor has confirmed V-6
output has stopped and 300
TRANS-CANADA NEWS 5,000 KILOMETRES
Former head of Magna seating
OF STORIES
brings 'pedigree' to ABC
TORONTO - PARTS SUPPLIER
ABC Technologies Holdings
Inc. has appointed Mike Bisson
its new COO, replacing Mike
Fritts, who retires June 30 after
a 40-year career in automotive.
Bisson was previously the
global president of Magna
International Inc.'s seating division.
He served in a range of
progressive roles with the parts
supplier prior to that appointment.
Before joining Magna,
he held a variety of positions
with Rockwell International and
General Motors of Canada. ABC
CEO Terry Campbell said Bisson
is " exceptionally qualified " to
lead the company through its
next growth chapter.
" We are fortunate to add someone
with his pedigree, expertise
and strategic knowledge to our
company as we move forward
molding the future together, "
Campbell said in a release.
Despite heading into retirement,
Fritts will remain a special
adviser to ABC during the leadership
transition.
- David Kennedy
Mike Bisson
previously
held a range
of leadership
roles at Magna,
General
Motors and
Rockwell
International.
PHOTO: ABC
TECHNOLOGIES
workers are laid off.
" Work continues to retool the
V-6 engine and six-speed transmission
lines at St. Catharines
Propulsion Plant to make way
for EV drive unit production
and we are assessing the timing
for that transition, " GM Canada
said in a statement.
" We will continue with our
long-standing strategy of building
to demand for our propulsion
technologies. "
GM in February 2023
announced plans to build new
Ultium electric drive units and
replace some internal-combustion-engine
production after
retooling the St. Catharines facility.
At the time, it said it still
expected to continue to produce
V-8 engines alongside the new
motors at the plant for an undetermined
time.
The automaker said the
electric motors would power
BrightDrop electric delivery
vans, which are assembled in
Ingersoll, Ont., about 150 kilometres
west of St. Catharines. Some
motors were also to be used in
GM's electric pickups.
The original plan was to
make 400,000 motors per year
in St. Catharines.
But interest in EVs is softening.
J.D. Power recently found
that 10.9 per cent of new-vehicle
shoppers in Canada were
" very likely " to consider an EV
for their next purchase and 17.6
per cent were " somewhat likely. "
That 28.5 per cent is down
from 34 per cent who said last
year they would look at one.
In the United States, the
annual J.D. Power Electric
Vehicle Consideration Study
found consumer interest in
EVs dropped for the first time
in three years.
EV INTEREST IN DECLINE
At the time of the 2023
announcement, former GM
Canada president Marissa West,
who is now senior vice-president
and president of GM
North America, said that, " St.
Catharines will play a critical
role in GM's plans to build one
million EVs in North America
by 2025. "
She also said the investment
in St. Catharines was " subject to
completing support agreements
with federal and Ontario government
partners. "
That's a number that hasn't
Free EV program addresses the
'evolving' mobility needs of retirees
AURORA, ONT. - A RETIREMENT
living community is making a small fleet of
electric vehicles available to its residents,
offering mobility as a no-cost amenity.
The program, offered by Delmanor
Aurora in a partnership with EV access
provider Kite Mobility, was created to
" redefine " personal transportation for
retirement-home dwellers, freeing residents
from car payments, insurance, fuel
and maintenance costs.
Residents will use Kite Mobility's mobile
app to schedule, access and manage the
fleet of Volvo XC40 Recharge EVs, " enhancing
their overall experience with seamless
technology integration. " The partnership
" aims to foster a sense of community,
fun, and environmental stewardship while
been disclosed nor agreed upon.
" Both the governments of
Canada and Ontario have committed
to support EV drive unit
production at St. Catharines,
however the details of those
agreements are still being finalized,
and will be announced at
a later date, " GM Canada told
Automotive News Canada on
June 5.
The delay concerns Unifor's
Longpre, who said the news
" was only shared verbally with
no official written statement distributed
by the company. "
" Verbal communication by
the company is not typical as we
know, in fact it's very odd, " he
said in his memo to members.
" Whenever the company has
made an official announcement
in the past, it is always issued
in written form. To date, the
union has not received any written
details pertaining to a delay
of the [battery electric vehicle]
project to support this announcement. "
The
union, he said, is determined
to " get to the bottom of
it and provide feedback to the
membership as soon as possible.
" Many of our members continue
to have concerns about
the transition our plant is going
through and how these changes
might impact them. " - ANC
addressing the evolving needs of retirees, "
said Kite CEO Scott Macwilliam.
Delmanor President Adam
Fineman said the program empowers
residents to " embrace cutting-edge
technology while enjoying the freedom
of safe and sustainable transportation. "
- Joe Knycha
03
06.24
Three Volvo XC40 Recharge
EVs will transport residents of
Delmanor Aurora, free of charge.
PHOTO: KITE MOBILITY
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Automotive News Canada - June 2024

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