May 15, 2026 | The week’s top stories and Mazda’s Jennifer Morrison on vehicle safety

May 15, 2026 | The week’s top stories and Mazda’s Jennifer Morrison on vehicle safety Automotive News Canada Podcast · May 15, 2026

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Company

TD Auto Finance

TD Auto Finance is a company that helps people pay for a car over time. They offer loan options instead of requiring the full price upfront.

Company

Honda Canada

Honda Canada is Honda’s business in Canada. In this segment, they’re saying they’re pausing a planned electric-vehicle factory project in Ontario.

Concept

electric vehicle complex

An electric vehicle complex is a big factory site meant for building EVs. It’s the kind of project that can create jobs and shape how many EVs get produced locally.

Concept

indefinitely suspended plans

It means the company is putting the project on hold with no clear date for when it will restart. That usually indicates a bigger change in plans than a short delay.

Concept

combustion free vehicle ambition

This phrase means Honda was aiming to move away from gas or diesel engines. They’re saying they’ll pivot to other powertrains—like hybrids—rather than going fully away from combustion.

Concept

pivot to 15 new hybrids through 2030

Honda is changing its plan for the next several years. Instead of focusing on EVs, they’re planning to introduce many hybrid models by 2030.

Company

Auto Canada

Auto Canada is a company that runs car dealerships. They’re reporting weaker sales and profits, especially related to used cars and overall demand.

Concept

used vehicle business

This means the dealership’s pre-owned car sales side. The hosts say that part of the business lost money, which hurt the company’s overall results.

Concept

franchise dealers

Franchise dealers are car dealerships that sell a specific brand’s vehicles under an agreement with that automaker. Auto Canada says it owns many of these locations.

Term

Regulatory delays are slowdowns caused by the time it takes to get approvals, certifications, or compliance sign-offs from government agencies. For automakers, these delays can push back launch dates, inventory, and delivery schedules.

Term

import quotas

An import quota is a limit on how many cars a country will allow to be imported in a year. If the limit is tight, fewer cars can be sold and the rollout can slow down.

Company

DSMA

DSMA is an advisory company mentioned as a source for market information. Here, they’re saying some Chinese automakers are changing how they plan to sell cars in Canada.

Brand

Cherry

Cherry is a car brand from China. The hosts say it’s scaling back its Canada dealership rollout because of government limits and approval delays.

Brand

BYD

BYD is a car brand from China. In this story, they’re adjusting their plan to sell cars in Canada because of limits and delays.

Brand

Geely

Geely is a car brand from China. In this segment, they’re changing how they roll out in Canada because of limits and delays.

Term

EV imports

EV imports are electric cars shipped into Canada from other countries. If there are limits, fewer EVs can arrive and sales can slow down.

Term

safety features

Safety features are technologies meant to help prevent crashes or reduce injuries. The hosts talk about how Mazda decides when a safety feature is important enough to include on every car.

Term

field data

Field data is information gathered from real cars being driven by real people. Mazda uses it to judge which safety features actually help enough to be standard.

Term

automatic emergency braking

Automatic emergency braking is a safety feature that can sense a crash is about to happen and brake for you. The goal is to slow the car down or help avoid the collision, especially in rear-end situations.

Term

blind spot monitoring

Blind spot monitoring is a system that watches the areas next to your car where you can’t see well. If another car is there, it warns you so you don’t accidentally change lanes into it.

Term

rear cross traffic alert

Rear cross traffic alert helps when you’re backing up. It warns you if cars are coming from the left or right, where you might not notice them.

Concept

packaging of these technologies together

They’re talking about putting multiple safety features together so they work as a system. The claim is that the combined effect reduces crashes more than any single feature by itself.

Concept

AI involved in actually making the vehicle decisions

They’re asking whether AI is starting to “decide” when safety features should activate. In simple terms, it’s about whether the car is using smarter software to interpret sensor data and take action.

Term

front sensing camera

A front sensing camera is a camera mounted at the front of the car that watches what’s ahead. It helps safety systems “see” hazards so they can react faster.

Term

front radar

Front radar uses signals to detect objects ahead and estimate how far away they are. It helps the car judge speed and distance for safety features.

Term

electrical architecture

In modern vehicles, the electrical architecture is the network of computers, wiring, and communication pathways that connects sensors to the vehicle’s decision-making systems. It’s what allows different safety sensors to share data and coordinate actions.

Term

ABS

ABS is a safety system that stops the wheels from locking when you brake hard. That helps you steer while you slow down.

Term

electronic stability control

Electronic stability control helps the car stay on its intended path when the road is slippery. If the car starts to slide, it can brake individual wheels to help regain control.

Term

sensor fusion

Sensor fusion means the car combines information from different sensors to understand the road better. Instead of relying on just one sensor, it “checks” using multiple sources.

Concept

simplifying safety technology

Simplifying safety technology means making safety features easier to use. Instead of making drivers learn lots of menus and settings, the car should handle it in the background.

Car

Mazda Cx5

The Mazda CX-5 is a compact SUV. Here, the hosts use the “all new CX-5” to show how newer safety features can be built in without lots of buttons or complicated setup.

Concept

decontenting vehicles

Decontenting means taking features out of a car to lower the cost. The goal is to keep the price down even when things are getting more expensive.

Term

side radars

These are radar sensors on the sides of the car. They help the car detect other vehicles or objects next to you, especially when you’re changing lanes.

Term

standard equipment

Standard equipment is stuff that comes with the car by default. It means you don’t have to pay extra or choose a higher trim just to get those safety sensors.

Term

trim structure

Trim structure is how car models are offered in different versions. Some versions cost more because they include more features, so where safety tech lands affects the final price.

Term

Top Safety Pick Plus

This is a top safety rating given to cars by a major safety testing organization. It means the car did very well in crash and safety tests.

Term

SAE level two driver assistance

SAE “level two” means the car can do some driving help—like steering assistance and controlling speed—but you still have to watch the road and be ready to take over.

Term

adaptive cruise control

Adaptive cruise control keeps a set distance from the car in front by automatically slowing down and speeding up as traffic changes.

Term

lane-centering

Lane-centering helps the car stay in the lane by making small steering adjustments so you don’t drift toward the edges.

Term

radar cruise control

Radar cruise control uses radar to “read” the traffic in front, so the car can slow down or speed up to keep distance.

Term

cooperative steering

Cooperative steering is when the car helps steer, but you’re still actively involved—so it’s not fully hands-off driving.

Term

lane keep assist alerts

Lane keep assist alerts are the warnings the car gives you if it thinks you’re drifting out of your lane.

Term

heads-up display

A heads-up display shows important info in front of you, so you don’t have to take your eyes off the road to check the dashboard.

Term

crash avoidance

Crash avoidance is technology that tries to prevent accidents by detecting danger early and helping the car react—often with warnings and automatic braking.

Term

sensor suite

A sensor suite is the set of sensors the car uses to “see” what’s around it, like other cars and lane markings.

Term

driver monitoring camera

A driver monitoring camera checks whether you’re paying attention. If it thinks you’re not, it can warn you or limit how much the car will assist.

Term

cruising and traffic support system

This is the car tech that helps you drive in traffic—like keeping a safe distance and helping with speed. It can also warn you if you seem distracted or not ready to drive.

Term

drowsiness and attention

The car can watch for signs you’re getting sleepy or not paying attention. If it thinks you’re not focused, it can alert you to take over.

Term

seatbelt alerts

These are warnings that tell you the seatbelt isn’t being used. The goal is to get everyone buckled so they’re better protected in a crash.

Term

hot car alert system

This feature helps prevent the danger of leaving someone in a parked car on a hot day. It can detect a risky situation and alert you so you don’t miss it.

Term

cameras in the vehicle

Cameras inside the car can watch what the driver is doing and what’s going on in the cabin. With software, they can spot risky behavior and warn you.

Concept

driver assurance

Driver assurance is the idea of using sensors and monitoring to confirm the driver is engaged and following safe behaviors. Instead of only preventing crashes, it focuses on preventing unsafe driving conditions by detecting distraction, seatbelt use, and impairment-related risk.

Term

Impairment

Impairment means the driver isn’t able to drive as safely as they should. The car tries to detect warning signs and help prevent crashes.

Term

algorithms and that AI

Algorithms are the software rules that help the car understand what it’s seeing. AI is smarter software that can learn patterns and help decide when to warn you.

Company

insurances to Highway Safety

This refers to a safety organization connected to the insurance industry. They test and rate cars for safety, and automakers use those results as a goal.

Term

real-world data

Real-world data is information gathered from how cars behave in everyday life. It helps show whether safety tech works outside of lab tests.

Term

top safety pick and plus awards

These are safety awards given to cars that score well in safety testing. Getting them is a sign the car is doing a lot right for crash protection.

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Hi everyone and welcome to the May 15th,

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 Mazda North America Operations Director of Vehicle Safety,

Jennifer Morrison. She recently spoke with Automotive News Canada publisher Tim Dimopolis.

The two discussed the evolution of vehicle safety features, how and why they become standard

equipment, how AI is integrated into safety features, and the cost of choosing some of those

features. But first, a look at some of the top Canadian automotive stories of the week.

Honda Canada made it official on May 14th. The automaker publicly announced that it had

indefinitely suspended plans for its proposed $15 billion electric vehicle complex in Ontario.

The automaker says shifting consumer demand and changing business conditions forced the pause.

The project announced in 2024 would have created up to 1000 new jobs in Alliston.

Honda says no government funding has been transferred. The company will continue

current production levels and employment levels at its existing Ontario plants.

The news is part of Honda CEO Toshihira Mibe's plan to abandon the company's combustion free

vehicle ambition and pivot to 15 new hybrids through 2030.

In retail news, auto Canada revenue and earnings declined to start 2026. Weaker new vehicle demand

and losses in its used vehicle business weighed on first quarter results. The dealership group

reported revenue of $1.19 billion down from $1.24 billion a year ago. Adjusted earnings fell to

$31 million. CEO Samuel Cochran says recent leadership changes are starting to improve

dealership sales productivity. Auto Canada owns 64 franchise dealers and dozens of

collision centres across Canada. And finally, Chinese automakers expanding into Canada are

slowing their rollout plans as import quotas and regulatory delays cloud the business case.

Advisory firm DSMA says BYD, Cherry and Geely are now focusing on just a handful of dealerships

in major markets. Vehicle deliveries are also expected to slip into 2027. Ottawa currently

limits China built EV imports to 49,000 vehicles annually under its new quota system shared across

all Chinese automakers. And 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 Mazda North America Operations Director of Vehicle Safety Jennifer

Morrison. At TD Auto Finance, we pride ourselves on being remarkably human and refreshingly simple

with relationships at the heart of everything we do. In over 30 years in the industry,

we're proud to provide reliable award-winning service in the communities you live and work in.

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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 Dimopolis

and Mazda North America Operations Director of Vehicle Safety, Jennifer Morrison.

Consumers today are expecting more safety features to come standard under vehicles. How does Mazda

decide when a technology has become important enough to move it from kind of an optional

feature to this core feature in the vehicle? It really is through what we're seeing out

in the field data. One of the things that we're really good at and even getting better at is

studying real world crashes and the technologies that we've deployed to address them. And once we

see that proven benefit, that real effectiveness, a great example is an automatic emergency braking.

So we've now studied automatic emergency braking for the better part of a decade.

So there was the voluntary commitment that came out with the auto industry

and IHS and NHTSA around 2016. And now we've had about 10 years to look at that.

And we're saying, oh, it's very effective. And so it's preventing about 50%, creeping up towards

60% of all rear impacts. And we're starting to see that in other technologies now. So another

great example is blind spot monitoring. It's the same sensor suite that you also then get

rear cross traffic alert since those side radars that are doing all that work. And we made that

decision to make that a standard feature across our entire lineup because we saw those same

effectiveness numbers rising that we were equipping and it was reducing instances of crashes. We

just last month published a study with the IHS Highway Laws Data Institute showing that the

more packaging of these technologies together, so really packaging, your front sensing camera,

all of the side radars, getting that automatic emergency braking, getting that blind spot

monitoring, that that was effectively reducing crashes. And there's where we find that linkage.

That's when we make that decision. When we can see a real world impact and get that technology

out there onto new vehicles because it's even more important as those new vehicles then penetrate

the used vehicle market because these cars that we're putting out on the road today are going to

be the used vehicles of tomorrow. So that's really important. That's what's making us put that

equipment in there knowing that these are actually going to change these crash rates, all those

charts we saw this morning. So speaking about decisions, how much is AI involved in actually

making the vehicle decisions when it comes to safety? So sensors can only do so much and onboard

computing can only do so much. Is there a point now where AI is kind of taking over the

decisioning when it comes to activating safer features? Sometimes we have to layer down that

buzzword of AI to just start talking about automation and systems that are helping us make

decisions for ourselves. Like you said, a lot of sensors on a vehicle, the front sensing camera

is doing a lot of work in cars today. Most vehicles have a front sensing camera now because it's part

of their automatic emergency braking system. The front radar, the side radars, those are all

then integrated into an electrical architecture. And that electrical architecture in that sensing

system, it's the brains and it's going to be able to make those decisions. But we've had vehicles

help us make decisions and do some of the processing for us and that those versions of

automation since the advent of ABS and electronic stability control. So really it's just an iteration

and improvement of that over time consistently getting better and smarter and the system's

able to make more decisions based on all of the sensor fusion too. So now we're having more sensors,

more thinking, more intelligence inside the vehicles. I don't know if I really want to call it AI

necessarily yet, but is the vehicle able to make decisions and support the driver better? Yes.

Now vehicles are becoming much more complex and safety systems are becoming much more complex and

some drivers and some vehicle owners are maybe getting a little bit fatigued with the amount of

technology they're assaulted with when they get into the vehicle. So does there come a point where

safety technologies and added features like we see here on the screen in front of us might even become

a safety liability if they're too complex or there's just too much going on and is there a move

towards simplifying safety technology not having it getting away? That's essentially what we're

trying to do here is simplify things. And we're sitting in the all new CX-5 where you see a far

less buttons. We have our touchscreen that does have some elements and menus that you can drill

down and see your safety systems. But a lot of that should really be transparent to the average

customer. They don't need to know that they have automatic emergency braking that can work in

12 different scenarios. We don't need to go down that list with them. And I think it's important

that they also don't need to buy that on a different trim package. You don't have to go up to this

trim or that trim to get that. It comes built into the vehicle. It's simplified. You don't ever have

to change the settings or learn about the technology. If that is the customer's perspective,

it's already baked in. It's there to support them. What they know about it, it doesn't matter.

It's just all part of the vehicle that they've just purchased. So absolutely agree that we

need to simplify things. Every customer doesn't want to have a 20 to 30 system-long list of all

the things that come in their vehicle. We have those lists because it's true. You're right,

there are a lot of complexities. These systems are building in now with all the different sensors.

We can do a lot more. But to the average customer, that's too complicated. We just want them to be

able to drive, pay attention, be able to support them, not replace them, support them on their

drive seamlessly. Let's talk about affordability. We can't have a discussion about anything today

without affordability popping up specifically in the automotive industry. So with so many consumers

feeling the economic pinch right now, how does Mazda balance the push for advanced safety features

with the need to keep vehicles affordable, especially at a time when a lot of manufacturers

are actually decontenting vehicles to get them to a level where people can actually afford them?

How do you balance that? It really is a combination of efficiency. We've talked about

these sensors that are doing a lot of work for us. When you add a sensor into a vehicle,

that sensor needs to be able to do exponential number of things. If you're adding in a camera,

it can't just do one thing. It's got to be able to work really hard for you. That's a good example

of our front sensing camera, our side radars, our front radar. Those are coming into the vehicle

as standard equipment, so they're not going to be adding additional cost in the trim structure.

We're not going to be having customers pay more money for those. So that does affect the overall

base price of the vehicle. But we're able to still keep our vehicles well below $30,000 in many cases,

and they're still top safety pick plus rated vehicles. We truly believe that safety and

affordability can go hand in hand. They're not opposing forces. The fact of the matter is a

lot of the cost in vehicles today is being driven up by the size of vehicles and by the customer

convenience features that people want on their cars. It's not the safety systems that are really

driving up that cost. We need to be thoughtful and efficient about the systems that we're putting in,

prioritizing safety over some of those frills of driver convenience, things like large SUVs or

ventilated seats. There's those features that are outside of the range of safety. Those aren't

always the priority. So when you're really thinking about safety, you want to build in the systems

that are those proven systems, and that's what Mazda has done. So speaking about priorities,

Mazda has always developed vehicles with their driver-centric, and that's been a big priority

for Mazda. So how do you design safety systems and keep that sort of DNA of being driver-centric

and having the driver connected to the road through these vehicles you produce?

Well, I'll give you a good example. We have our level two, SAE level two driver assistance feature

called cruising and traffic support. It is a hands-on driver assistance system. So it is

Mazda radar cruise control. So it's giving you your adaptive cruise control, your acceleration,

and your braking. And it's also doing lane-centering at the same time. So this vehicle is equipped

with that, but it is importantly a hands-on feature. It allows you to do cooperative steering.

So it's still that human-centric putting the driver first. You can deviate the lane. It'll

give you, of course, your lane, keep assist alerts for that. But it's not a hands-off system. We really

want to keep the driver engaged. Give them the heads-up display. Allow those automation features

to come in with their hands on the wheel and make sure that the driver is still part of the

overall safety system. We're not taking away control. We are supplementing the driver.

So looking ahead over the next five to 10 years, what do you think is going to be the biggest

safety innovation that will make an impact on ultimately saving lives and getting people on

the road and to the destinations in a safer way? I'm really excited about what we can do

with driver monitoring and cameras. We've done a lot with cameras on the outside of the car.

We've talked a lot about that here today with our sensor suite and crash avoidance.

And now we are introducing cameras into the vehicle. Now we have to be quite careful with

how we use those and protect the privacy and the data that those cameras are collecting and using.

But the vehicle that we're sitting in today has a driver monitoring camera here on the steering

column. That's really only to function with our cruising and traffic support system. In the case

that the driver becomes unresponsive or is looking away, that system can provide alerts for drowsiness

and attention. But in the future, that same type of technology can do things like

seatbelt alerts, be able to see if the driver is wearing their seatbelt, be able to see if the

driver is using their cell phone, be able to integrate it with our hot car alert system for

the trial passengers that are left behind. I see so much potential in the further implementation

of cameras in the vehicle, not to invade people's privacy, but to create a more intelligent system

for driver assurance that those behaviors and the things that are going on inside the vehicle

are also in the effort of safety. Impairment is a big piece of that too. These cameras,

as those algorithms and that AI that you asked me about, as those things get more intelligent,

there's an opportunity for these same camera systems and their logic behind them to be able

to help us address some of those real-world problems. You lead a very complex portfolio with

a lot of technology inputs and a lot of stuff you need to be on top of. But ultimately, when you

look at all the stuff you manage, what are your goals or benchmarks to know that whatever you're

doing from a safety standpoint is working? There's got to be one way to distill it down and say,

this is job one when it comes to what we're doing. There are a couple different benchmarks we're

looking at. That is our vision. We would like no one to be injured or killed inside of one of our

new vehicles. That is what we're going for. The incremental steps to get there, going to conferences

like this one, the Enhanced Safety of Vehicles Conference in Toronto has been fantastic because

we can also look at our industry partners, groups like the insurances to Highway Safety.

What are they looking at to do next? They're also studying that real-world data. Earning

their top safety pick and plus awards. We know that if we are tracking with what

they're saying and it also makes sense to us as we incrementally improve safety in our vehicles

and earn those rewards, which is also great for our customers and our sales, that those are the

right steps in the right direction to not only improve safety for our vehicles, but for everyone

on the road. We want to really evolve as an entire industry. Jennifer, thank you very much.

Yes, thank you. I'd like to thank Jennifer for her 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 glason.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

of in the middle of our homepage. And don't forget, you can follow Automotive News Canada on X,

where we're at Auto News Canada. You can find me there too under at glason, A and 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.

0:00

17:18

packaging of these technologies together

AI involved in actually making the vehicle decisions

insurances to Highway Safety

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