Automotive News Canada Podcast Oct 31, 2025

Oct. 31, 2025 | The week’s top stories and Clarify Group President Darren Slind on auto shows

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Brand

Honda

Honda makes cars that are popular for being dependable and easy to maintain. Many people choose Honda for everyday driving.

Company

Nexperia

Nexperia makes the tiny chips that help cars run their computers and safety systems. If they have a problem, it can affect many car makers.

Concept

semiconductor supply chain issue

Cars need tiny computer chips to run things like the engine, brakes, and entertainment systems. When there aren’t enough chips, car makers have to pause or slow down production.

Brand

Stellantis

Stellantis is a big company that owns many car brands. It’s responsible for making cars in Canada and other countries.

Car

Jeep Compass

The Jeep Compass is a small SUV that’s easy to drive in the city and can handle light off‑road adventures. It’s known for its rugged look and comfortable interior.

Concept

tariff discount

A tariff discount means the government charges less money when a car comes from another country. It helps make those cars cheaper for buyers.

Brand

U.S. International Trade Commission

The USITC is a government group that looks at how much money people pay when cars come from other countries and makes sure trade rules are followed.

Concept

big three North American auto shows

These shows are like the biggest car parties in North America where car companies show off their newest cars and plans. They’re called the "big three" because they’re the biggest and most important.

Term

post visit studies

After people go to a car show, researchers ask them questions about why they went and what they liked. This helps car companies understand their audience.

Term

Think of a car that can get new features or fixes just by downloading a software update, like getting a new game on a console. It means the car’s behavior can change after you buy it, making it more flexible and up-to-date.

Term

electrification

It’s the move from gasoline or diesel engines to cars that run on electricity, either fully electric or a mix of electric and gas. This helps cut pollution and can make cars cheaper to run.

Term

new vehicle prices

It’s the amount you have to pay when buying a brand‑new car today. Prices are higher than before because parts cost more and people want newer tech.

Term

OEM

An OEM is the company that makes a car, like Ford or Toyota. They sell it with their own name on it.

Concept

out of sight, out of mind challenge

If a car brand isn’t shown or talked about, people might not remember it and may choose another brand instead.

Concept

test track

A test track is a special road or circuit where people can drive cars to see how fast and safe they are, without traffic.

Term

EV

An EV is a car that runs on electricity from batteries, so it doesn’t use gasoline or diesel.

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Hi everyone, happy Halloween,

and welcome to the October 31st, 2025 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 Clarify Group co-founder

and president, Darren Slind.

He recently spoke with Automotive News Canada publisher,

Tim Demopoulos.

Clarify Group is an automotive research and insights firm.

It recently conducted a survey about auto shows.

That survey was commissioned

by the Canadian International Auto Show,

the Los Angeles Auto Show,

and the New York International Auto Show.

Darren talks about those findings later on the podcast.

But first, a look at some of the top Canadian

automotive stories of the week.

Honda Canada says the Nexperia chip crisis

is forcing the automaker to make production adjustments

across its North American operations.

A spokesperson says, quote,

we are currently managing

an industry-wide semiconductor supply chain issue,

making strategic adjustments to production as necessary

to carefully manage the available supply of parts

and meet the needs of our customers.

The company would not comment on the status

of individual North American plants

or speculate on how long

the production curtailments would last.

Honda builds the Civic and the CRV at plants in Alliston,

just North of Toronto.

Sticking with manufacturing news,

Stellantis Canada maintains it is committed

to Brampton Assembly Plant.

Outgoing President of Canada Operations, Jeff Hines,

made the comment during this week's

House of Commons Industry and Technology Committee meeting.

Hines says the plant is not closed.

Says Hines, we want to continue

to build vehicles in Brampton,

and we want to bring something that's going to work,

but we need an environment that allows us to do that.

Hines was presumably alluding to the ongoing trade war

and reciprocal auto tariffs between the U.S. and Canada.

Hines says that while the original plan

was to produce the Jeep Compass in Brampton,

market dynamics that started nine months ago

led to the adjustments being made.

And finally, we end with even more manufacturing news.

An analysis of tariffs levied on vehicles imported

to the U.S. from Canada and Mexico

suggests that there is a high level

of non-U.S. content in those vehicles.

It's keeping automakers

from claiming a significant tariff discount.

According to data from the U.S. International Trade

Commission analyzed by T.D. Cohen,

finished passenger vehicles from Canada and Mexico

were tariffed at a rate of 19% in July.

Analysts suggest that reporting may have to do

with poor tracking and record keeping

up and down the value chain.

It's possible that USMCA compliant vehicles

contain more U.S. content,

but companies have not figured out

how to appropriately document that.

We have much more in-depth analysis on our website.

And that's a look at some

of the top Canadian automotive stories of the week.

Coming up, we hear a conversation

between Automotive News Canada publisher, Tim Demopoulos

and Clarify Group co-founder and president, Darren Slin.

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We're committed to making it easy to finance a vehicle

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in dealer satisfaction among non-captive,

non-prime lenders with retail credit eight years in a row.

With your continued support,

we were also recognized as number one

in dealer satisfaction among non-captive prime lenders

with retail credit in the J.D. Power 2025

Canada Dealer Financing Satisfaction Study.

to find out how we can support you every step

of the vehicle buying journey.

For J.D. Power 2025 award information,

visit jdpower.com slash awards.

Welcome back to the Automotive News Canada podcast.

I'm your host, Greg Lason.

We now hear from the Clarified Group co-founder

and president, Darren Slin.

So Darren, your new research challenges the idea

that car buyers have moved entirely online.

What do the findings tell us

about why the in-person auto show experience

still matters so much in 2026?

Well, Tim, we know from not only

this visitor experience research,

but other work that we've been doing,

that the new vehicle buying journey is really a blend

of both the online and the in-person.

You know, when you consider the steps

through the buying journey for most consumers.

In fact, only a relatively small minority of shoppers

would be either all digital or all in-person.

The vast majority, it's a blend.

And so for the auto show, and particularly

the large multi-day, multifaceted shows

like the ones we're talking about today,

including the Canadian International Auto Show in Toronto,

the New York International Auto Show

and the Los Angeles Auto Show,

they offer consumers an unrivaled opportunity

to see and to learn and to drive new vehicles

that are of interest to them in one place.

That's the key, and at one time.

And in fact, the data goes on to suggest

that the average visitor at these shows

is spending over four hours

and combined having something like nine plus

in-vehicle experiences.

So if you consider the cost for an OEM

or a large dealer group to replicate

that kind of consumer engagement outside of an auto show,

I mean, it would be prohibitive.

So what we're seeing from the data

is that when you think about the show itself

from a return or ROI, return on investment perspective,

it delivers strong value to exhibitors.

And I would argue that it doesn't replace digital marketing.

In fact, it accelerates the impact of digital marketing

because it drives consumers or drives behaviors

of consumers that both OEMs and dealers care about.

Still looking at ROI, most people that exhibit

or most companies that exhibit are looking for

real sort of action from their visits to the auto show.

So how much more likely are auto show attendees to purchase

and what's driving that level of purchase intent?

Well, I think the answer,

well, I'm not sure whether it'll surprise you or not,

but we've calculated this in comparison

to the average North American consumer,

a visitor to one of the three auto shows

that we're talking about is 2.9 times more likely

to purchase a new vehicle within the next 12 months.

So the statistics are, you know,

14% for the average North American consumer

in the next 12 months as compared to 40%

for the big three North American auto shows.

So nearly three times.

And when we ask visitors in these post visit studies

that we do, why they come,

the responses are remarkably consistent

across not only the big three North American shows,

but also we work with Montreal and Vancouver

and the results are remarkably consistent.

The number one reason, 80% of visitors come to see

what's new in terms of models and brands.

The second most compelling reason for attendance

is that 50% of visitors want to learn more

about new automotive technology.

And as you know, things are rapidly changing on that front.

And third, and perhaps most significant for exhibitors

is that nearly two in five visitors,

37% come to the show to make the decision

on their next vehicle.

And the auto show is the perfect venue,

the perfect way to accomplish all of these objectives.

So one of the more surprising insights

is that the Gen Z visitors are among the most enthusiastic

regarding auto shows.

And they're also the most enthusiastic promoters.

So what does that say about how younger consumers

engage with automotive brands today?

Indeed, it was kind of a counterintuitive finding

when we first saw it.

And we double and triple check the data.

And of course, what we've seen now,

this is three years in a row, we've seen the same result

and we've seen the same result across markets.

So this is not a fluke,

but when we compare the likelihood

of different age categories of visitors

to recommend the show to family and friends,

by far the most enthusiastic promoters

are the 20 to 29 age group,

essentially the Gen Z in America,

the Gen Z cohort in Canada.

And when we sort of dig a little bit deeper

as to why that might be the case,

there's a couple of main reasons.

Number one, we know that vehicle technology

is changing at a very rapid pace,

everything from software defined vehicles

to various forms of electrification.

And we also know that new vehicle prices

are at record levels.

And so the stakes,

particularly for younger consumers are very high.

They don't wanna make a bad decision.

They wanna be fully educated.

And so these younger buyers

essentially appreciate the show

for not only its educational value,

but also the efficiency it offers them

in terms of being able to see,

and in many cases,

drive the vehicles that interest them.

As you know, all of these shows have significant

both indoor and outdoor test track opportunities.

Now, the study also found that a brand's absence

at the show can directly influence buying behavior

with some consumers saying that they're less likely

to consider that brand afterwards.

How should OEMs interpret that finding

when deciding whether or not to participate?

Yeah, this is what I call the out of sight,

out of mind challenge or problem.

Across all of the auto shows that we work with,

we know that visitors who are in the market

and state that within the next 12 months,

they intend to buy,

add at least one, if not more,

new models to their consideration list

as a result of attending the show.

In other words, brands or models

that were not on their radar

prior to buying a ticket to attend.

So when we roll that up in an aggregate level,

when we compare the results of exhibiting

versus non-exhibiting brands,

the results are quite dramatic.

And we measure something called consideration uplift.

And essentially, when you,

and we can do this both for exhibiting brands

as well as for brands that we're not exhibiting

because we know the nature of ownership of all visitors.

So we know what brands they own.

And what we found is that exhibiting brands

generate two and a half times the consideration uplift

compared to the average of all brands.

And then on the downside,

non-exhibiting brands collectively experience

a decline in consideration that is three times lower

than the average of all brands.

So taking that one step further,

we ask consumers, you know,

to what degree did brands being absent

have an impact on their show experience?

And over 70% said it did.

And frankly, it's not a positive one.

23% says nearly one in four visitors indicate

they are more likely to consider an exhibiting brand.

And one in five, 20% report being less likely

to buy a brand that was absent for the show.

So I would argue the stakes are quite high.

And in a mature vehicle market like in North America,

you know, we're talking about how the pie gets shared

when the pie's not necessarily growing.

You know, it is our opinion,

and the data would support this,

that OEM should not miss the opportunity

to protect their market share,

and ideally grow it through the auto show circuit.

Okay, with 55% of visitors heading to a dealership

and 28% actually purchasing or ordering a vehicle

after attending, according to your research,

what does that tell us about how auto shows complement

digital marketing and dealer engagement strategies

in particular?

Well, I think, Tim, that is the key word.

Auto shows are a vital complement to online brand

and model awareness efforts of the manufacturers.

In our view, auto shows accelerate

the consumer buying decision.

So what they're really doing is amplifying

those digital marketing efforts,

because there's nowhere else that consumers can see,

and in many cases, drive the vehicles

that they are considering.

So they use the show to narrow down their shortlist.

And as I said before, in at least half the cases,

they're adding a new brand or model to their list.

So auto shows don't really replace digital marketing.

That's not their goal.

They amplify digital marketing efforts

and bring them to life.

So in its simplest explanation, the data is clear.

Auto shows sell cars.

Okay, now your company works

with the three largest auto shows in North America.

From your perspective, how have these events evolved

in recent years to remain relevant

and deliver a measurable ROI?

We talked a little bit about that before,

but let's talk about how it delivers ROI,

not only for the exhibitors,

but also for some of the sponsors too.

Yeah, and that's a great question.

And actually, just to clarify, pardon the pun,

we're fortunate to work with not only

the three largest North American shows,

New York, Los Angeles, and Toronto,

but also with the three largest shows across Canada,

which include Salon d'Auto in Montreal,

Vancouver Elevate, and for the first time this year,

Quebec City is joining the program.

But for sure, since the pandemic,

we are seeing an evolution in the role of the show.

While shows continue to be the perfect venue

for OEMs to launch new vehicles

and technologies to the media,

we've seen that the emphasis has been shifting a little bit

to the show's role as a highly effective consumer marketing

and selling opportunity.

In fact, I think it's fair to say some OEMs were skeptical

about coming back right after the pandemic,

but now that the auto shows have been able

to provide the manufacturers

with this kind of objective quantitative data

to both exhibiting and not exhibiting manufacturers alike,

the business case, the ROI for the show

is definitely more clear.

And this is the reason several brands

have now made the decision to return to major auto shows

as they don't want to miss the opportunity

to generate incremental consideration for their brand

and not gift that consideration

to their exhibiting competitors.

Now, out of all the auto shows on the auto show circuit,

Toronto seems to have remained relatively healthy

in terms of attendance,

and exhibitors are now starting to pile back in post-COVID.

So what is it about the show in Toronto in particular

that keeps on bringing back visitors year over year?

Well, I think it's a combination of factors.

It is the fact that so many exhibitors are at the show,

and as you say, more and more coming back every year.

In fact, it's only a small handful now

that are not yet exhibitors,

but it's not just the opportunity to see

and learn more about brands and vehicles,

but there are a lot of experiential elements at the show.

And I'm talking primarily, but not exclusively,

about both the internal within the convention center,

EV test track, as well as an external test track as well,

so opportunities to actually drive the cars.

And of course, you've got Camp Jeep

and other type exhibits that provide opportunities

for consumers to be in the vehicle.

And then there's a whole entertainment aspect.

I mean, not every single visitor is coming to buy a car.

There are families that come

and enjoy an afternoon at the show,

everything from Lego and exhibits

and other things like that, the police exhibits and so on.

So there's kind of something for everything.

But as I said before,

what we're seeing is that the vast majority,

it's nearly two and three consumers

that are coming to the Toronto show,

and this would be true of New York and LA as well.

They're there because they are at some stage

of the purchase funnel,

and they're using the show to help make a good decision.

I'd like to thank Darren for his time

and Tim for conducting the interview.

If you'd like to be a guest on the podcast,

have a suggestion or simply want to comment,

email me at glason 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

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And don't forget, you can follow Automotive News Canada

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And you can find me there too, under at G Lason, A-N-C.

Finally, you can find 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.

Bye.

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18:58

Oct. 31, 2025 | The week’s top stories and Clarify Group President Darren Slind on auto shows

Honda

Nexperia

semiconductor supply chain issue

Stellantis

Jeep Compass

tariff discount

U.S. International Trade Commission

big three North American auto shows

post visit studies

software defined vehicles

electrification

new vehicle prices

OEM

out of sight, out of mind challenge

test track

EV

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