Automotive News Canada - September 2024 - 6

6
* SEPTEMBER 2024
Switching Ford's Oakville, Ont., plant to Super Duty pickups from three-row electric crossovers is still a
positive development for Ford Canada because it makes for a more flexible operation and provides " great
stability to our workers in Canada, " said President Bev Goodman. PHOTOS: FORD CANADA
Goodman: Super Duty
calls, so EVs can wait
Electrification is still coming, but
pickup production is a positive,
Ford Canada president says
By DAVID KENNEDY
T ORONTO BUREAU CHIEF
SUPER DUTY PICKUPS WILL WRITE THE NEXT
chapter for Ford in Canada as the automaker navigates a
choppy transition to electric vehicles that has introduced
new challenges, new competitors but fresh opportunities.
The Canadian unit marked its 120th anniversary on
Aug. 17. On that date in 1904, Henry Ford and Walkerville
Wagon Works struck a deal, making Ford the first largescale
car producer in Canada. The town of Walkerville,
Ont., is now part of Windsor.
Today, Ford Canada employs more than 7,000 workers
across its manufacturing and R&D operations.
The largest site is in Oakville, 40 kilometres southwest
of Toronto, where Ford this spring began retooling to
build pickups after shelving a plan to assemble large electric
crossovers with three rows of seats. The company
announced Aug. 21 it will instead build a family of hybrid
three-row crossovers.
Marking the anniversary, Ford Canada President
Bev Goodman discussed with Automotive News Canada
what's next for the automaker. The responses have been
edited for length.
BUILDING SUPER DUTY PICKUPS IN OAKVILLE WAS A BIG
SHIFT. WHAT OPPORTUNITIES DOES THAT CREATE?
It's a huge opportunity producing Super Duty
here in Canada. We've always valued our workers in
Canada and the work that we do here.
It was a significant shift, but it's a very positive
move for our employees, for our customers and for
our dealers. This additional capacity at launch will
be about 100,000 Super Duty trucks ... with the potential
to grow over time, as well as the addition of multienergy
variants in the future. So, creating a flexible
production facility is going to provide great stability
to our workers in Canada, which is a really positive
move for all of us.
COULD EV PRODUCTION STILL BE IN THE CARDS
FOR OAKVILLE?
At this time, the decision has been to put Super
Duty production here, which will have an electrified
variant over time. So, we've had to shift our plan
around our third-row electric-vehicle production,
and we don't have anything to share on this at this
time. But as we've said, we remain committed to our
EV future ... and we'll share more when we've got
more information.
MANUFACTURING OFTEN TAKES THE LIMELIGHT, BUT FORD
ALSO HAS SIGNIFICANT R&D FACILITIES IN CANADA.
WHAT ARE SOME OF THE FOCUSES?
They're focused on software and in-vehicle experiences
for multiple vehicles for customers across the
globe. Things like how customers interact with their
vehicle entertainment and infotainment systems,
how customers interact with charging information
- for example, on a Mustang Mach-E. And they were
also big drivers behind the development of the allnew
digital experience for both Ford and Lincoln in
the '24 Nautilus and '25 Explorer.
So, the work that they're doing is really critical for
us as we think about differentiated in-vehicle experiences
for our customers.
THE DELAY TO FORD'S THREE-ROW EVS WAS
ACCOMPANIED BY A RENEWED FOCUS ON HYBRIDS.
WHAT DEMAND ARE YOU SEEING FOR HYBRID MODELS?
We are absolutely committed to an electrified
future. However, we also believe that we need to provide
customers choice. And that choice will come
from bringing amazing [internal combustion engine]
vehicles, hybrid-electric, plug-in hybrid as well as
battery-electric vehicles to market over
time so that we can fill any customer's
needs - depending on what their use
case is and what their absolute preference
is.
So, we do see [hybrids] as critical
components. We've said as a company over time,
all [internal-combustion] vehicles by the end of the
decade will have hybrid options available - which
will, again, continue to help us as we move through
this transition toward electrification, meeting all
customers' needs, really giving them that freedom of
choice.
FORD ENDED ITS MODEL E EV CERTIFICATION PROGRAM
FOR DEALERS IN THE UNITED STATES IN JUNE. IS FORD
CANADA ALSO MOVING AWAY FROM THAT PROGRAM?
Yes. We've announced a similar change to our
dealers here in Canada.
IS FORD READY FOR THE FEDERAL EV MANDATE
THAT WILL BEGIN TO TAKE EFFECT NEXT YEAR?
Our job is to make sure that we are compliant to
all regulations in the market, and that's what we're
committed to do, and so we'll get to where we'll
need to be.
WILL COMPLIANCE BE ACHIEVED WITH SALES OF
QUALIFYING VEHICLES, BUYING CREDITS OR ALL
OF THE ABOVE?
All of the above.
IS FORD CONCERNED ABOUT BYD OR OTHER
COMPETITORS FROM CHINA ENTERING THE MARKET?
We need to be aware of and watching all of our
competition. And there's no doubt that BYD is a
compelling, strong competitor who's performed very
well in China as well as in other markets globally.
Our job as an OEM is to make great products for our
Canadian customers, and that's our plan as we go
forward. And we'll compete with any manufacturer.
IS VEHICLE AFFORDABILITY ON FORD'S RADAR,
ESPECIALLY AS CANADIANS COPE WITH A TOUGHER
ECONOMY?
Absolutely. It is one of the things that the company
is thinking about. [Ford Motor Co. CEO] Jim
Farley [has said] globally that building affordable
EVs, specifically, and developing new platforms to
bring that to market is one of the company's key priorities.
-ANC
Fitzgibbon
FILE PHOTO
TRENDING
STORIES
automotivenews.ca
ONGOING WEB COVERAGE
PUMPING THE BRAKES ON EVs
Automakers continue to scale back EV plans and production, citing a
global slowdown in demand. Volvo on Sept. 5 said it would abandon its
goal of becoming 100 per cent electric by 2030. This year, Hyundai, Ford,
General Motors and others have also announced softening EV goals.
CHINA TARIFFS
China has filed a complaint to the World Trade Organization over
Canada's new 100-per-cent tariff on electric vehicles. Canada's move
is the latest in an expanding fight against China flooding markets
with state funded cheap EVs.
EV CHAMPION FITZGIBBON QUITS POLITICS
PIERRE FITZGIBBON, QUEBEC MINISTER OF
the economy, innovation and energy, is leaving
office. He has been the driving force behind the
province's electric-vehicle manufacturing industry,
supporting and pushing for lithium mining projects
for EVs, as well as the factories to refine the materials
and manufacture the batteries. Fitzgibbon said
on Sept. 4 that he is leaving office because he lost
motivation to do the job.
EV COSTS TOO HIGH TO MEET SALES MANDATE
NEW ANALYSIS FROM THE FEDERAL PARLIAMENTARY
Budget Office (PBO) concludes that electric vehicle pricing needs to
fall, or long-term savings of EV ownership need to rise, if Canada is
to meet government zero-emission-vehicle sales targets. The PBO
provides independent analysis to Parliament. The report compares
the purchase price of new vehicles - factoring in federal and provincial
rebates for EVs - and the operating and maintenance costs
over eight years. For passenger cars, the eight-year cost for an EV
model in 2022 was 88 per cent of the eight-year cost of a similar
gasoline-powered model. For SUVs and pickups, the EV models
are about 92 per cent of the cost of buying, operating and maintaining
a gasoline-powered option.
NEW NORTH AMERICAN JEEP BOSS
STELLANTIS HAS APPOINTED BOB
Broderdorf as head of Jeep in North America.
Previously, he was senior vice-president of Ram
brand operation. He replaces Bill Peffer, who will
become head of North American dealer network
development. Peffer succeeds Phil Langley, who is
retiring after a 40-year career with the automaker.
Peffer was in the Jeep role since December when
Canadian Jim Morrison retired.
Broderdorf
PHOTO:
STELLANTIS
TESLA TRIES TO HEAD OFF CANADIAN EV TARIFFS
BEFORE CANADA SAID IT WAS IMPOSING A 100-PER-CENT
duty on China-made electric vehicles, Tesla approached the federal
government for a lower tariff on its vehicles, a Canadian government
source told Reuters news agency. The source said Tesla
asked for a rate similar to the nine per cent it received in the
European Union.
EQUINOX LOOKS TOUGHER, BUT FEWER TRIMS
THE 2025 CHEVROLET
Equinox gets a redesign
that packages more technology
into a pickup-like
profile. It has a more
upright front end, a wider
stance and boxier wheel
wells. Chevy streamlined
the Equinox's trims to the
base LT, the sporty RS
and the new off-roadstyled
Activ. The front-wheel-drive LT starts at $35,443 including
destination charges. - ANC
PHOTO: AUTOMOTIVE NEWS
FOR FULL TEXT OF THESE STORIES AND MORE
automotivenews.ca

http://www.automotivenews.ca http://www.automotivenews.ca

Automotive News Canada - September 2024

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