Automotive News Canada - August 2024 - 22

22
* AUGUST 2024
Pickup production provides stability for Oakville
CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1
Oakville that looked into the future, and
that's what we have here today, " she said.
PRAISE FOR FORD
Payne credited Ford for its willingness
to work on a resolution, and CEO
Jim Farley for his commitment to ensuring
Oakville had a future. Aside from
decreasing downtime at the plant, Ford
made several adjustments that are expected
to improve income supports for laid-off
workers during the retooling.
But the automaker's revised plan for
Oakville falls short of the best-case scenario,
said Brendan Sweeney, managing
director of the Trillium Network for
Advanced Manufacturing, which advocates
on behalf of Ontario manufacturers.
" Is this great news? No. Great news
would have been that they shut down the
plant for six months and retooled, and
they were going to be back up and running
in December, " Sweeney said.
Under Ford's original EV plan for
Oakville, the plant would have reopened
late this year, clearing the way for a production
ramp-up in early 2025. While
CHANGING PLANS
Ford announced in April
2023 that Oakville
Assembly would
begin a $1.8 billion
retooling this
spring to build
electric vehicles
in 2025. The
plant would
be renamed
Oakville
Electric Vehicle
Complex
(illustration). In
April 2024, EV
production was
pushed to 2027, but now the
company will build Super
Duty pickups
in 2026. FORD RENDERING
such a short retooling period is now off
the table, 2026 is a lot better than 2027 for
the plant's workforce and the wide variety
of parts plants that supply Oakville,
Sweeney said.
The addition of a highly profitable,
in-demand vehicle - as opposed to an EV
that was likely to start in low volumes -
is also a vote of confidence for the plant,
he said.
PICKUP PERSISTENCE
Under an agreement with Unifor, Ford
will make Oakville Assembly the " sole
initial source " of the automaker's
electrified pickups, at least in the short
term. PHOTO: FORD
Ford has not built pickups in Canada
since 2004 when it closed its Ontario Truck
Plant after nearly 40 years of production.
The shuttered plant was incorporated into
the current Oakville Assembly Complex
two years later.
Ford will now invest US $2.3 billion (Cdn
$3 billion) to retool the plant, securing 1,800
jobs on one shift to start, 400 more than the
GM's electric pickups
are in the pipeline
CONTINUED FROM PAGE 19
the market for our customers. We've
got 724 kilometres' range on the Sierra
Denali EV Edition 1, which really puts
range [anxiety] out of
the question. So the
Silverado EV is starting
to hit showrooms
now in Canada, and
the Sierra EV will follow
in the fourth quarter.
Peever:
The
Silverado and
Sierra electric
pickups
address
customers'
range anxiety.
FILE PHOTO
HOW IMPORTANT IS
WESTERN CANADA TO
THE GMC BRAND?
We had the best
first-half sales ever
for the year, and the
West was a big part of
that, making up about
36 per cent of GMC's
sales. So, we punch over and above our
weight here.
WHAT IS THE CONNECTION BETWEEN
PEOPLE WHO LOVE THE CALGARY STAMPEDE
AND WHO CHOOSE GMC PRODUCTS?
We've been at the Stampede for over
38 years. Stampede attendees and GMC
customers are folks who appreciate
quality craftsmanship and the great
outdoors. That shared affinity for western
terrain and the desire for vehicles
that can handle any rugged environment
creates a pretty natural connection.
And our GMC dealers in Alberta
are deeply rooted in the community.
- ANC
Body
Final
assembly
assembly
Battery pack
assembly
Paint
plant's exclusivity on electrified versions
of the Super Duty will last, Payne said.
While the change of direction from
Ford walks back one of the electric-vehicle
mandates secured for assembly
plants in Ontario, Payne said she's confident
that the province remains on course
heading into the EV era, even if the transition
isn't a " straight line. "
PICKUPS MEAN A MORE DIVERSE INDUSTRY
" Every company understands that this
is the direction that we're moving in, "
Payne said. " The reality
is that this gives us a
more diverse footprint in
Canada. "
plant would have initially employed if it
had shifted to EV production.
Before Ford Edge output ended in May,
however, the plant employed about 3,200
hourly workers.
Payne is " confident " that Oakville will
add further shifts and get more union
members back to work, given the popularity
of the pickups.
" Nobody wants a plant with just one
shift in it, " she said. " There will be obviously
onus on the company to also look at
how do we make the capacity that we're
putting there and getting a good return
on the investment. "
Unifor's negotiations with Ford also
locked Oakville in as the " sole initial
source " of multienergy Super Duty pickups
in the short term. The next round of
bargaining between the union and company
in 2026 will determine how long the
TRANS-CANADA NEWS 5,000 KILOMETRES
OF STORIES
CONTINUED FROM PAGE 3
ble. Rebates are limited to one
per vehicle per owner, retroactive
to Aug. 1, 2023. Qualifying
new EVs must have an MSRP
of $70,000 or less, while used
EVs must be less than four
years old.
The rebate kicks in as EV
sales rise in Manitoba, said
David Adams, president of the
Global Automakers of Canada,
which represents import
brands. They accounted for 3.5
per cent of new-vehicle registrations
in 2023.
" So far, 449 ZEVs are on the
road in Manitoba, with battery-electric
vehicles accounting
for 237, " reported Electric
Autonomy Canada, quoting
provincial sources. - Joe
Knycha
Ottawa invests in lithium
tech industrialization
RICHMOND, B.C. -
Federal Natural Resources
Minister Jonathan Wilkinson
has announced two investments
totaling more than
$9 million to support the
battery supply chain in
British Columbia under
Ottawa's Critical Minerals
Research, Development and
Demonstration program.
Saltworks Technologies
Inc. will receive $4.9 million
to accelerate the conA
Saltworks lithium
processing system
designed to treat
wastewater at battery-cell
plants and recover lithium.
PHOTO: SALTWORKS
centration and conversion of
Canadian lithium brine into
lithium battery precursors
using two novel technologies.
The project could speed access
to lithium and reduce investment
risk in Canada's brineto-battery
lithium industry,
an alternative to conventional
mining.
The other investment
is $4.5 million in Noram
Electrolysis Systems Inc. to
support the industrial-scale
demonstration of membrane
electrolysis technology for
lithium production at its
new test centre. The goal is
to commercialize sustainable
lithium hydroxide production
from a variety of lithium
resources, enabling broad
industrial implementation of
membrane electrolysis technology.
- Steve Mertl
Ford's change in strategy
is " excellent news "
for Ontario's auto sector,
said Vic Fedeli, the
province's minister of
economic development,
job creation and trade.
Fedeli has championed
EV supply-chain investments
as well as backed
them with significant
provincial funding.
The company's Super
Duty plans will " pave
the way " for multienergy
vehicles in Oakville,
which is " critical as we
fully transition into the
full electrified space, "
Fedeli said.
Sweeney:
Ford's EV
production
cutback in
Oakville
shouldn't hurt
Ontario's EV
supply chain
but shows
" we need to
temper our
expectations. "
FILE PHOTO
Sweeney likewise said Ford's pullback
from EV production in Oakville doesn't
spell long-term trouble for Ontario's EV
supply chain. But it does show that " we
need to temper our expectations " in the
first few years, he said, particularly when
it comes to aggressive ramp-ups. -ANC
Heavy vehicle testing
slated for federal facility
BLAINVILLE, QUE. -
Transport Canada is
expanding the scope of
activities at its Motor
Vehicle Test Centre with a
new $29 million lab at the
sprawling research facility.
The
new Commercial
Vehicle Laboratory was
designed to handle large
vehicles, including electric
transit buses and heavy
trucks.
The new lab will
enhance the centre's ability
to conduct and evaluate
safety testing for such
vehicles, and is expected
to be completed next fall.
It will add about 50,000
square feet (4,400 square
metres) of research space
to the site, which includes
25 kilometres of specialized
test tracks.
High-quality research
facilities are " essential "
to enhance the safety,
security, efficiency and
environmental performance
of vehicles operated
in Canada, said federal
Minister of Transport,
Pablo Rodriguez in
announcing the project.
He said the new spending
will transform the
centre into a facility that
will be " among the most
advanced in the world. "
- Joe Knycha
Supercar store ranked
the best of the best
TORONTO - HIGH
retail performance in trying
economic times has
earned McLaren Toronto
the automaker's
Global
Retailer
of
the Year
award for
the second
time.
McLaren
Toronto
also won
in 2017.
The
store,
owned
by Lithia
Motors Inc.,
based in
the United
States,
was chosen
from a
Pfaff: The
McLaren
award
recognizes
his group's
" passion
to deliver a
world-class
customer
experience. "
FILE PHOTO
12-dealership global short
list on June 13, topping
retailers in 40 markets.
To determine the winners,
McLaren tracks its
dealerships month-tomonth
in multiple areas of
business.
Chris Pfaff, CEO of Pfaff
Automotive Partners and
McLaren Toronto, said
the award recognizes the
store's " passion to deliver
a world-class customer
experience. " - Joe Knycha
- ANC
Automotive News Canada - August 2024

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Automotive News Canada - August 2024
