June 19, 2026 | The week’s top stories and Toyota’s Scott MacKenzie on EVs, assembly, USMCA

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Hi, everyone, and welcome to the June 19th,

2026 episode of the Automotive News Canada podcast.

I'm your host, Greg Lason, the digital and mobile editor

at Automotive News Canada.

Coming to you from just outside Windsor, Ontario,

the automotive capital of Canada.

Today on the show, we hear from Toyota Canada

Director of Corporate Strategy and External Affairs,

Scott MacKenzie.

He recently sat down in Quebec City

with Automotive News Canada publisher Tim DiMopolis

to talk about Toyota's electrification road map,

the automaker's multi-power train approach,

making more cars in Canada affordability,

the USMCA, and more.

But first, to look at some of the top Canadian automotive

stories of the week.

China's biggest automakers are seriously considering

building vehicles in Canada.

That's according to the head of the Automotive Parts

Manufacturers Association.

Flavio Volpe says companies such as BYD, Geely, and Cherry

are in active discussions about opening assembly plants

or taking over idle factories.

Volpe says Canada's quota system for Chinese electric vehicles

is working as intended.

It's pushing automakers to invest locally

if they want to expand sales beyond that limited number

of imports.

Sticking with manufacturing for a moment,

Canada's auto industry received strong support

from American lawmakers and industry leaders

at a major automotive conference this week.

Speaker after speaker at the Center for Automotive

Research Management Briefing Seminars in Michigan

made the case for Canada.

All of them argued that North America

cannot compete effectively with China

without a strong Canadian auto sector.

Michigan Congresswoman Debbie Dingle called Canada

a vital partner and said treating the country

like an enemy is unacceptable.

Industry leaders also warned that weakening Canada's

auto industry ultimately hurts American workers

and suppliers.

Finally, in tariff news, Honda Canada

is warning that US tariffs, Chinese competition,

and conflicting government policy

could gradually erode Canada's auto industry.

Honda Canada CEO Dave Jamison says the company

built more than 400,000 vehicles in Ontario last year

and remains at full capacity.

But he warned future production could shift elsewhere

if Canada becomes less competitive.

He says prolonged tariffs and poorly aligned

industrial, environmental, and trade policies

are putting Canada's long-term manufacturing future at risk.

That's a look at some of the top Canadian

automotive stories of the week.

You can find more on those and other stories

at our website, automotivenews.ca.

Coming up we hear from Toyota Canada

Director of Corporate Strategy and External Affairs,

Scott McKenzie.

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Welcome back to the Automotive News Canada podcast.

I'm your host, Greg Lason.

We'll now hear a conversation

between Automotive News Canada publisher Tim Domopoulos

and Toyota Canada Director of Corporate Strategy

and External Affairs, Scott Mackenzie.

So Scott, Toyota has a long history of electrification.

Tell us about that and the current state

of global electrified sales for the brand.

Going back to the mid 1990s,

even before we became known for hybrid vehicles,

we made a RAV4 electric vehicle.

I think it was 1995 or 1996.

Didn't sell a lot of them.

It was just an initial project that we had.

And shortly after that in 1999, we brought out the Prius.

And we're known for the Prius.

The Prius was the beginning of hybrids for us.

And later on, we started to migrate hybrid powertrains

across our entire lineup.

And now this year, I think we'll have 21 products for sale

under the Toyota brand in Canada that are electrified

in some way, whether it's hybrid, plug-in hybrid

or battery electric.

And over the years, we've added plug-in hybrid.

We did that in 2012 in Canada.

And we now have a couple of plug-in hybrid models

under the Toyota brand.

And more recently, battery electric models.

So today, we've got three battery electric vehicles

for sale in Canada.

And we'll be bringing a fourth,

the new all electric Highlander.

We'll be for sale later this year.

And just this past month in May, 70% of our sales

in the month of May in Canada were electrified,

meaning they were either hybrid, plug-in hybrid

or all electric.

And then when you look out globally,

it does vary by markets.

If you look at places like Japan, China, Western Europe,

you're seeing higher rates of electrification,

some other areas are lower.

But generally speaking, we see an increase

of electrification everywhere.

And depending on the market, it could be centered more

on hybrids or plug-in hybrids or BEVs.

In our case, we've got all three.

Now in Canada, since the first Prius made its debut,

how many vehicles have you actually sold

in terms of just total volume or total numbers?

For hybrids?

For electrified vehicles.

Electrified vehicles were over 600,000 in Canada

since we first brought out the Prius,

which was 2000 in Canada, the year 2000.

Now let's talk a little bit about the regional differences.

There's obviously regional differences

when it comes to electrification between BC and Quebec.

But do you see that changing now

that we have the federal incentive program back?

Despite the lack of provincial incentives

in most other provinces, do you think we'll ever get

to a time where that number becomes a little bit more

dispersed against where the markets actually are

from a population standpoint?

I think you'll see some changes in some markets in Canada,

but not all of them.

So British Columbia and Quebec, the populace,

I think is more geared towards, I'll say, electrified products.

They've been more popular here for a long time,

and they remain very popular here.

In places like Ontario, we have an improved supply

of electrified products, specifically with battery

electrics and plug-in hybrids.

So I think you'll see those sales increasing in Ontario.

But some of the other markets in Canada,

Western Canada, Alberta, Saskatchewan,

we do really well with hybrids there.

I think battery electrics and plug-in hybrids

are a little bit less popular.

They are improving, but you don't have the same uptake

that you would have like here in Quebec.

So for instance, this morning we talked about

the RAV4 plug-in hybrid, and we expect that to be about

25% of our sales in Canada, which is a huge increase

over the previous generation, but in Quebec,

we're expecting that to be about 40%.

So there's still greater penetration

in British Columbia and Quebec.

Part of that is because of policy,

so they have provincial incentives available

that stack on top of the federal incentives,

but part of it is just the populace is more inclined

towards increasing levels of electrification.

For me, one of the most striking things about Toyota

is when you look at the product lineup, it's expanding,

and you look at other manufacturers,

and they're rationalizing their product lineups,

they're focusing more on their core vehicles

rather than creating new segments.

They're choosing a pathway when it comes to power trains

rather than going full multi-pathway.

Like Toyota's, your multi-pathway approach

still makes sense, and does offering more product

rather than focusing on the core products

make sense in given all the regulatory changes

in the market in the US, which is a big market globally,

and also in Canada.

I can understand the approach of other automakers right now

where they're maybe reducing the number of offerings

or concentrating on specific technologies,

because honestly, it's very expensive

to diversify your lineup as much as we have.

It's really capital intensive to do that.

We're in a pretty good position financially as a company

where we can afford to do that,

but because we can afford to do that,

we take the approach that the best solution

to uncertainty is diversity.

So you mentioned the regulatory environment in the US.

That's been true in Canada as well,

if you look at some of the policy changes

over the last couple of years,

but it's very difficult to plan at the moment.

Part of that is because of regulation,

but part of it is also because of the environment

we're in right now with tariffs.

The market environment's really uncertain,

but that reinforces our approach that,

if you have the full suite of solutions, you can pivot

if the market goes one way or the other,

whereas if you're concentrated on one technology,

it becomes really, really hard to do that.

But at some point, if let's say we're in a situation again

where EV demand craters because the incentives go away

or something happens where the market further sours

on electrification or at least electric vehicles,

is Toyota prepared to make choices

when it comes to their multi-pathway approach

to fine tune it and make it a little bit more in tune

with market realities?

If you look at some of the products we have

in the marketplace today, as an example,

we mentioned the all electric Highlander

that we'll be bringing to market later this year.

And we get asked the question a lot about Highlander

because we, in bringing out this version of the vehicle,

we stopped making the gas and hybrid versions

of the Highlander, but at the same time,

we've brought out the Grand Highlander.

In the last couple of years, it's doing really, really well.

Honestly, the sales of Grand Highlander are better

than the previous version of the Highlander.

And now we've got an all electric Highlander

and a Grand Highlander that's both gas and hybrid

and they complement each other.

And because of that, if the market goes one way

or the other, we can flex up one way or down the other way,

depending on which direction it goes.

And I think you'll see that approach

with a lot of our vehicles going forward.

And for instance, the RAV4,

which is the top selling on pickup truck in Canada,

is our top selling model.

We have a hybrid version as standard in Canada.

We also sell a plug-in hybrid version.

I could see at some point in time, later down the road,

maybe you have an all electric version of that as well.

But similarly, we can pivot based on allocating

more battery electric versus plug-in hybrid

versus conventional hybrid based on where the market goes.

We have to have the capability to do that.

Speaking about pivots, many manufacturers have pivoted

to offer far more affordable options in the marketplace,

considering the price of vehicles these days,

particularly when you look at BEVs,

they've gotten very, very expensive and out of reach

for many consumers.

And some manufacturers have responded by coming to market

or repricing vehicles that they were planning on bringing

to market to get them to a price point

that is more acceptable, I guess,

from an affordability standpoint.

And I look at the CHR, for instance,

price slightly above what some of the entry-level BEVs

are being priced at from manufacturers like Nissan

and potential Chinese entrants come to Canada,

the Chevy Bolt.

Is there the ability for Toyota to look at its pricing structure,

particularly around its entry-level BEV vehicles,

and make adjustments as the affordability quotient

starts to get even more important?

I think the first thing that we did that I'm most proud of

is we never got out of making sedans.

Some automakers saw reduced profitability with sedans,

and they focused on SUVs, which, to be clear,

are dominating the marketplace right now.

And we're as prevalent with SUVs in the market

as any other OEM, but we didn't get out of making sedans.

And in the last year, especially when you see the impact

of tariffs, not only in Canada, but in the United States

as well, like let's not forget that their manufacturing

in the US is struggling under the tariff burden as well.

We are seeing a higher uptick in sedan sales,

because it's a more affordable option, typically.

I would say it's challenging right now,

just both through regulation and through the market realities,

to make an affordable car today.

When I say regulation, safety systems that are regulated

into cars, they're a great thing.

They're perfect for protecting consumers,

but they are expensive.

And generally speaking, they are making things

more challenging from a cost point of view.

And then you get the tariff environments.

You've got increasing trade friction.

We're likely going into a review

or potentially negotiation of KUSMA.

That could result in more requirements

for localized content.

That's not going to make cars less expensive.

So do we have some flexibility to make adjustments?

Sure, we do.

But part of it is just because of the diversity of options

we have in our lineup.

We can pivot from one to the other.

On an individual model like the CHR,

if it makes sense to do something like that,

we could do that.

But we could also change the marketing of the vehicle.

We could make a lower cost option.

We could pivot that way as well.

Consumers often think about affordability

when it comes to things like their monthly car payment

or price to acquire.

Very few consumers look at total cost of ownership

when buying a car.

And is that kind of an area that Toyota could focus on

just in terms of making the case that buying a Toyota

of long term makes much more financial sense

than buying a competitive model, which may not have the same.

Resale value or reliability down the road.

Toyota is known for quality, durability, and reliability.

And what that means to our customers

is that lower expense over the long term.

Purchased decisions today are primarily made

based on a monthly payment.

It's not even the sticker price of the vehicle.

It's what's my operating cost going to be on a monthly basis

for however long I plan to have this car.

And a contributing factor to that is obviously

how much is the car.

But part of it is also things like insurance.

It could be what's the annual running cost of the car.

Is it all of our cars are covered under warranty.

So are our competitors.

But eventually it could be wear and tear.

It could be insurance costs.

It could be even factors like resale value.

All of those things come into play.

So we can try to control what we can control.

And in our case it's we want our customers

to feel that it's not going to cost them a lot

to maintain their cars over the short to medium term.

Because we feel that they're built well

and they can trust us that they're not going to fall apart.

Let's talk about the BZ.

I had a bit of a rough start when it was introduced

for a number of reasons.

The original name didn't quite roll off the tongue

and there were just some other issues

with positioning and market at the time.

It's had a bit of a renaissance just in terms of positioning

and the market tell me a little bit about what it took

to get it on the radar for Canadian buyers

and what the future holds for it.

The market never lies and the consumers never wrong.

So even as an automaker sometimes we make products

and we're excited about them.

They think they'll do well in the marketplace

and we get told we're wrong.

And with the BZ in particular

it was pretty clear from the feedback

from individual customers in the marketplace in general

that we need to make some changes and we did.

So we changed the powertrain, made it a lot more competitive.

I would say that one of the things that stands out for us

is just our reputation for quality, durability,

reliability which I'd mentioned earlier

and that customers trust us.

And we saw actually opinion surveys

before we even brought its predecessor,

the BZ4X, to marketplace that a high number of Canadians

intended their first EV purchase to be a Toyota

even though we didn't actually make an EV at that point in time.

So we have a lot of I'd say built up trust

with our customers to do it right.

And now we've got that trust paired with

actually a pretty competitive product

and the sales are really, really strong.

Speaking about trust, I think many Canadians

probably trust Toyota for another reason.

That's because you guys make cars in the country,

particularly the RAV4 and among other Lexus vehicles as well.

But the PHEV, a RAV4, isn't made in Canada.

What would it take to start making more vehicles

in this country like PHEVs, like the RAV4, PHEV?

And do we have the battery supply chain set up

in a way that would make sense for Toyota

to invest in making more electric and electrified vehicles here?

I'll start with the RAV4 plug-in hybrid version first.

Making cars in Canada, the reality is more than 80%

of our products get exported to the United States.

It's the largest car market, the world's second largest

to China now, but very huge important market for us.

And we wouldn't be the size we are today

if we didn't have access to that market.

Because of that, we have trade rules that we have to comply to,

and we're part of KUSMA, or USMCA as they call it in the United States,

and it requires a certain amount of local,

local meaning North American content in our cars in order to comply.

And the challenge we have with plug-in hybrids at the moment

is just that we can't make the battery locally,

and it's an expensive commodity,

and it weighs against us when it comes to complying to KUSMA.

At some point, we'll look to localize those batteries to North America,

and at that point it would be actually relatively easy

for us to make that car in Canada.

It's not that it's challenging to make,

it's just we don't have enough localized content in order for it to qualify.

More generally, with electrification and building out battery supply chains,

there's been a number of investments in Canada.

Some of them are moving along, some of them are paused,

for various reasons.

I think the Canadian government's focused on building out battery supply chains here,

and that will only help companies like Toyota

as we move to ever-increasing levels of electrification.

I think the ingredients are here, but we just need to figure out

first how to get some of them out of the ground,

to, or second, to get some of them processed,

and third, to get them into a battery that can go into a vehicle.

So last bonus question, because you know there's always a bonus question,

we talked a little bit about affordability.

Some manufacturers are looking at sourcing vehicles from other countries,

like China, for instance, where they manufacture not necessarily Chinese brands,

but brands like Nissan, for instance,

they announced that they could bring Chinese-made EVs and vehicles into the Canadian market

from their factories.

Is that something that Toyota would consider if it made sense?

We make cars in China.

We make cars in China through joint venture partnerships with Chinese companies.

We've got a lot of experience operating in China,

and frankly we have some very competitive electrified products in China.

It's something that we could look at,

but it's not something that we're planning on at this time.

I feel like that.

It looks like Canada and the United States are having some discussions

with respect to Kuzma and our trading relationship,

and I think it would be a good outcome for all of the North American industry

if we can get to a place where we're working collaboratively together

for the best inches of the North American automotive industry.

And you think we'll get there?

You talk to a lot of people in government.

You talk to a lot of people who are representing us in Canada in these discussions.

You also talk to a lot of your U.S. counterparts.

Do you think we'll see a positive outcome,

or at least an outcome that makes sense for this country and for auto manufacturers moving forward?

I would just say I'm cautiously but increasingly optimistic.

I'd like to thank Scott for his time and Tim for conducting the interview.

If you'd like to be a guest on the show, have a suggestion or simply want to comment,

email me at glasen at AutoNews.com.

And remember, you can listen to all our previous podcasts on Spotify, iTunes, Google Play,

or on our website, automotivenews.ca.

Just scroll to the podcast hub in the middle of the homepage.

And don't forget, you can follow Automotive News Canada on X, where we're at AutoNews Canada.

You can find me there too under at glasen, A-N-C.

Finally, look for us on LinkedIn, just search Automotive News Canada.

That does it for this episode of the Automotive News Canada podcast.

We hope you'll join us next time. So long, everybody.

June 19, 2026 | The week’s top stories and Toyota’s Scott MacKenzie on EVs, assembly, USMCA

About this episode

trading relationship

North American automotive industry

Brand BYD

Person Flavio Volpe

Brand Geely

Brand Cherry

Concept quota system for Chinese electric vehicles

Place Center for Automotive Research Management Briefing Seminars

Place Michigan

Concept North America cannot compete effectively with China without a strong Canadian auto sector

Concept US tariffs

Concept Chinese competition

Concept conflicting government policy

Concept industrial, environmental, and trade policies

Concept dealership operations

Topic Fusion

Term connected retail

Company Keyloop

Car Toyota Prius

Term hybrid powertrains

Concept electrified

Term battery electric

Term plug-in hybrids

Term BEVs

Concept federal incentive program

Concept provincial incentives

Place British Columbia

Place Quebec

Place Ontario

Place Alberta

Place Saskatchewan

Car RAV4 plug-in hybrid

Term electrification

Concept multi-pathway

Concept regulatory changes

Concept capital intensive

Car all electric Highlander

Car Toyota Grand Highlander

Term hybrid version

Term conventional hybrid

Car Toyota Chr

Brand Nissan

Car Chevy Bolt

Term resale value

Term monthly payment

Term sticker price

Term operating cost

Term insurance

Term annual running cost

Term warranty

Term wear and tear

Concept positioning

Car Toyota bZ4X

Term PHEV

Concept battery supply chain

Concept more than 80% of our products get exported to the United States

Concept USMCA

Term North American content

Term localize those batteries

Concept joint venture partnerships

Concept trading relationship

Concept North American automotive industry

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