Automotive News Canada - October 2024 - 10

10
10.24
OPINION
What we've learned with
100 issues of AN Canada
THE STORIES IN THE FIRST ISSUE OF
Automotive News Canada in 2016
were very different from the stories in
this, the 100th issue.
Back then, I trumpeted on Page 1
" a commitment to
delivering the best
news via a monthly
printed product with
up-to-date
Canadian sales figures,
an up-to-theminute
website full
of daily news stoEDITOR-IN-CHIEF
JEFF
MELNYCHUK
ries,
a weekly newsletter delivered to
your in-box every Monday morning,
and breaking-news alerts whenever
major events happen. . . . With that, let's
share our great stories. Welcome to
the first issue of Automotive News
Canada. "
The big stories were the Takata airbag
recall, the Volkswagen diesel-emissions
scandal ( " Deal for VW
TDI customers is TBD " ) and " Canada
will play a major role in deciding the
global future of the world's largest
carmaker, as General Motors plans to
hire 1,000 Canadian engineers. "
In my first column in that issue, I
opined about the impossibility of
hydrogen technology overtaking battery-electric
vehicles with the following.
I'm
proud that
the original
mission from
2016 - telling
great stories
- is still the
mission today.
" On the outside,
hydrogen's
immediate problem
is the chicken-and-egg
deadlock
between the
lack of availability
of the cars and
lack of fuel, and
what appears to
be lack of real
political will to get
Canada rolling into greener pastures. "
There was a best-practices spotlight
( " FCA dealership with a tiny footprint
has the biggest sales in
Canada " ), a Q&A with Toyota
Canada's Larry Hutchison and a guest
column by Ray Tanguay, who at the
time was the automotive adviser to
the governments of Ontario and
Canada. He had been in the role for
about a year and wrote, " And when it
comes to talent, we have an abundance
of gifted engineers with the
expertise to herald the era of connectThe
first issue of
Automotive News
Canada featured
the Takata airbag
recall on Page 1.
ed, autonomous and electric vehicles. "
I
knew that we would feature plenty
of C-suite executives, but I also wanted
readers to meet other interesting
professionals who
make the industry
tick, thus the
Unobvious Ones feature
was born. The
very first person in
2016: " When
Mercedes-Benz
opened the world's
first 'automated' hydrogen-fuel-cell
production facility, the company
tapped company veteran Klaus Berger
to manage the complex undertaking. "
When this publication began, I
wasn't sure what would stick, but I'm
proud that we've continued the
Unobvious
Ones
(Page 14
of this
of this
issue)
issue)
because the
auto industry
is a business
of people
as much
as it is
machinery
and profits.
About 250
such
Unobvious
Ones have
been featured
over the years.
I'm most proud of the dedicated
reporters and editors who literally
work night and day to bring you the
news. They are roots of this tree, so
to speak.
But I'm also proud that the original
mission from 2016 is still the
mission today. The stories are dramatically
different - who knew that
the COVID-19 pandemic was only a
few years away - as they're now
largely driven by electrification, but
the original commitment to delivering
the " best news " holds true to this
day. If anything, with more experience,
the quality has improved.
And " With that, let's share our
great stories. "
Welcome to the 100th issue of
Automotive News Canada. - ANC
On the list
of Stellantis
problems:
Vehicle
pricing,
demand
and dealer
relations
In March,
Automotive News Canada published
a story quoting Canadian dealers
calling on Stellantis to take action
against eroding sales amid rising
inventories.
" It's no secret Stellantis' market
share has been dropping both in the
U.S. and in Canada, " said Murray
Haukaas, chair of the Stellantis
Canadian National Dealer Council (CNDC), which
represents about 450 dealers.
" As dealers, we have inventory challenges. We
have a very strong and aggressive dealer body that
wants to get its fair share of the market back -
and Stellantis does, too. " Haukaas is also CEO of
Twin Motors Group, which has four Stellantis and
two General Motors stores in Manitoba.
In an October story by sibling publication
Automotive News, one U.S. dealer said incentives
weren't high enough to turn around sales.
" That's the part that they're not getting their
WRITE TO US:
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(250-word max., please indicate " for publication " ).
We reserve the right to edit all submissions for length, content and clarity. Include your name,
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There's no short-term fix for
deep-seated Stellantis issues
DOWNTRODDEN RETAILERS ARE LIKELY THE LEAST
surprised by the turmoil engulfing Stellantis and its
beleaguered CEO, Carlos Tavares.
Retailers on both sides of the border have long
sounded the alarm over slumping sales, an aging
and uncompetitively priced product
line and a company chief perceived
by some as fixated on margin.
Some dealers have been so
frustrated that
they've resorted to
publicly airing their
concerns.
MACALUSO
MANAGING EDITOR
GRACE
head around, " said the dealer, who spoke on the
condition of anonymity. " They're trying to micromanage
their way and hold as much profit, but we need
to blow out the inventory so that the dealers will
start ordering again and help them bring in money,
because that's good for all of us. "
Indeed, sales have been on a
downward spiral. In Canada and
the United States, third-quarter
sales fell 24 per cent and 20 per
cent, respectively, according to the
Automotive News Research & Data
Center in Detroit.
Meanwhile, the revolving door at
the Auburn Hills, Mich.-based carmaker has been
spinning almost nonstop since the start of the year.
Departures include Jason Stoicevich, former head of
Canadian operations and, more recently, vice-president
of U.S. retail sales; Tim Kuniskis, who oversaw
the Dodge brand; and Jim Morrison, who was the
former chief of Jeep North America before moving to
the newly formed Jeep Performance Parts unit.
Stellantis, formed three years ago by merging
Fiat Chrysler Automobiles with PSA Group, is in the
midst of a cost-cutting spree while it tries to trim
inventories by boosting incentives.
As dealers hope for the best, at least one industry
analyst suggests that they'll have to be extremely
patient.
" Their problem is not a short-term one, " Jessica
Caldwell, executive director of insights at U.S.-based
Edmunds, told Automotive News.
" You have a demand problem. You have a pricing
problem. You probably have a dealer problem,
because they're not happy. " - ANC
Canadians' clear message for EV
semantics: Don't tell me what to buy
WORDS MATTER. ESPECIALLY
when it comes to politics and
polling. It's why the word
" semantics " exists.
Take the federal government's
Electric Vehicle Availability
Standard, which the auto industry
would much prefer to call an
" electric-vehicle sales mandate. "
" Availability standard " sounds
like a proactive measure to make
more zero-emission vehicles
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KC CRAIN, PRESIDENT & CEO
KEITH E. CRAIN, EDITOR EMERITUS
The federal
government
might have the
policy, but it
doesn't seem to
understand that
Canadians have
all the power.
available to
the masses.
A " sales
mandate "
sounds like a
dictator's
edict, issued
from high
above. In the
case of the
government's
legislation -
which says
zero-emission
vehicles must account for an
escalating percentage of sales
every year, beginning at 20 per
cent for 2026 and arriving at
100 per cent in 2035 - both
seem like fair descriptors.
And that leads me to a recent
Leger poll, commissioned by the
Canadian Taxpayers Federation.
Among other things, it asked:
Do you agree or disagree with a
national ban on the sale of new
gasoline, diesel and hybrid vehicles?
And,
it found that " three-inDIGITAL
AND
MOBILE EDITOR
GREG
LAYSON
five (59 per cent) disagree with a
national ban on the sale of new
gas, diesel and hybrid vehicles by
2035, with 39 per cent strongly
opposing the ban. "
But is it a ban? Not exactly.
Automakers can still sell vehicles
powered by internal-combustion
engines (ICE), but they will pay a
penalty if they don't meet the
minimum percentage of EVs and
eligible plug-in hybrids. And it's a
cost that will likely be passed on
to consumers.
But I and others at Automotive
News Canada have written that
the legislation will " effectively
ban " the sale of ICE vehicles.
Because, well, that's the underlying
intent of the law.
But, when you ask a freedom-loving
Canadian in a divided
Western democracy whether they
agree with a ban, the answer is
likely to be " no, " for various reasons.
Perhaps
they believe in freedom
of choice and a free market.
Maybe they are anti-government
to some degree. Others might
hate anything related to the federal
Liberals or Prime Minister
Justin Trudeau.
I'm left to wonder what the
response would be if the question
was worded differently: Do
you agree or disagree with a
national policy that requires an
increased sale of ZEVs to remove
carbon-emitting gas and diesel
vehicles from our roads?
Whether I agree or disagree
with the policy in its current form
matters little because my point is
this: There's likely never going to
be a perfect piece of policy or a
perfect poll.
But, if the government takes
anything from this recent survey
- the third in six months that
shows Canadians are cool to the
idea of EVs - it's this:
Canadians don't want to be told
how to spend their money, especially
when it comes to what is
traditionally the second-largest
purchase of their lives.
So, maybe it's time to listen,
no matter how the question is
worded. - ANC
With a politically divided
country, it's reasonable
that an aversion to electric
vehicles could partly be an
anti-Liberal or anti-Justin
Trudeau sentiment.
PHOTO: GREG LAYSON

Automotive News Canada - October 2024

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