Automotive News Canada Podcast
Automotive News Canada
Updated 1 day agoPodcast by Automotive News Canada
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Episodes (316)
March 5, 2021 | Tim Reuss says change is accelerating within the industry
Tim Reuss, the head of the Canadian Automobile Dealers Association, says COVID-19 has rapidly accelerated change throughout the industry. He also says now is not the time for automakers to ask dealers to upgrade stores or for the government to implement new taxes.
Feb. 26, 2021 | Former car czar Ray Tanguay on Canada’s auto industry: 'We are relevant'
Former Toyota executive and auto adviser Ray Tanguay assesses Canada’s auto industry, explains why Canada’s transition to electric vehicles should start in the commercial and public transit sectors and says Canada has EV battery potential in more places than Ontario.
Feb. 19, 2021 | LeddarTech’s COO on its rise, diversity and Canada’s tech talent
Lidar has become a linchpin technology for the development of autonomous vehicles, and Québec City-based LeddarTech is an industry leader. But, it makes more than just lidar. The head of the Automotive Parts Manufacturers' Association once said: “Everything that you and I think is cool in vehicles, LeddarTech does it.” LeddarTech COO Frantz Saintellemy talks about the importance of diversity and expansion, how competitive the auto tech market is and how Canada’s engineering talent stacks up.
Feb. 12, 2021 | Why the buy-sell market remains strong a year into COVID-19
The COVID-19 pandemic has been around for a year, with a third wave of infections possible in Canada, yet it continues to be a seller's market with it comes to dealers looking to unload their stores. Farid Ahmad of Dealer Solutions Mergers and Acquisitions explains why owners are looking to sell, what makes a dealership attractive and who the potential buyers might be in 2021.
Feb. 5, 2021 | J.D. Power’s Robert Karwel on inventory, incentives and used cars
The global pandemic has created some serious inventory shortages in Canada. J.D. Power’s Robert Karwel explains how dealers and automakers are handling the situation and still maintaining some level of profitability. He also says the used-vehicle market is shaping up for a strong 2021.
Jan. 29, 2021 | Stellantis is the latest merger for FCA dealers, so what’s different this time?
Jim McManes, founder of McManes Automotive Group, owns 10 FCA branded dealerships in Western Canada. He’s lived through the Daimler and Fiat mergers and survived the Cerberus experiment. He offers his thoughts on the merger with Stellantis, its CEO Carols Taveres, what it might mean for Canadian dealers. McManes talks about where the holes are in FCA’s lineup and what PSA might be able to do to fill the gaps.
Jan. 22, 2021 | GM Canada’s president on $1B in EV investment, Canadian innovation and BrightDrop
General Motors Canada President Scott Bell explains why the automaker moved contract talks with Unifor up eight months, what made the company’s CAMI plant in Ingersoll, Ont., the perfect place to build its new EV600 electric commercial van, and talks about a Canadian innovation that’s a very big part of GM’s BrightDrop division.
Jan. 15, 2021 | What makes Ontario a great place to build EV batteries and why the province should
Carmine Pizzurro, plant manager of the former Delphi battery plant in Ontario and the co-founder of EV infrastructure company eCamion, says the province has to become a leader in EV battery production. And, if it does, it means longevity for auto plants there.
Jan. 8, 2021 | What cash-conserving Canadians and a K-shaped recovery could mean for 2021 sales
Rebekah Young, Scotiabank Economics’ director of fiscal and provincial economics, says a K-shaped recovery could be on the way, talks about how much money Canadians have managed to save during the pandemic and what all that might mean for sales in 2021.
Jan. 1, 2021 | How Unifor's Dias saved Canadian auto manufacturing
Unifor President Jerry Dias discusses the Canadian labor union's success in bargaining with the Detroit Three automakers, the pandemic's ''positive'' impact on negotiations and ending the ''bitter fight'' over GM's Oshawa assembly plant.
Dec. 25, 2020 | Magna's Kotagiri on new CEO role, driving growth and Don Walker's legacy
Incoming Magna CEO Swamy Kotagiri discusses the road ahead for the Canadian supplier as Don Walker prepares to retire at the end of the year. He also shares insight on bringing new products to market and opportunities for Magna Steyr in North America.
Dec. 18, 2020 | Alberta dealers association head on COVID, sales, and why Albertans shun EVs
Gerald Wood just couldn’t stay retired. Eighteen months after leaving Ford Canada, he became the head of the Motor Dealers’ Association of Alberta and finds himself helping his members navigate COVID-19 restrictions in a province that loves its trucks and whose oil workers are loyal to the internal combustion engine.
Dec. 11, 2020 | December sales to be soft, but vaccine gives hope for Q1 and spring
Jeff Schuster of auto forecaster LMC Automotive says restrictions aimed at curbing the spread of COVID-19 will likely hurt December sales while inventory woes could linger into the first quarter. But, with a vaccine on the way, he says there’s hope for the spring selling season.
Dec. 4, 2020 | Google reveals the two most important things car buyers want from a dealer website
Mathew Growden of Google Canada’s Auto Retail Team reveals the two most important things car buyers want from a dealer website and talks about how the pandemic changed attitudes toward online sales “overnight.” But when it comes to a dealership’s digital strategy, Jeremy Koch of Koch Ford Lincoln says everyone must buy into a “complete overhaul” if it’s going to work.
Nov. 27, 2020 | Downtown Auto Group’s Shahin Alizadeh on dealerships, condos and COVID-19
Downtown Auto Group’s Shahin Alizadeh explains how economics and “thinking outside the box” led him to build a $100-million multi-brand store complete with nearly 900 condominiums on the same property.
Nov. 20, 2020 | GM Canada’s Scott Bell on Oshawa’s return, Canada’s tech presence and the EV future
GM Canada President Scott Bell says automaker “never gave up on Oshawa” and that the investment “is real, it’s happening.” He also says “the pavement is down” on the autonomous-vehicle test track there and is hopefully of a retail future, post-pandemic.
Nov. 13, 2020 | Analyst Kristin Dziczek on Canada’s auto assembly ‘pulling back from the brink’
Kristin Dziczek, the vice-president of industry, labor and economics at the Center for Automotive Research in Ann Arbor, Mich., talks about the Detroit Three’s “surprising” $5-billion investment in Canadian auto assembly, whether they can follow through on all those EV promises and what happens in 2023 when Unifor bargains at the same time as the United Auto Workers in the United States.
Nov. 6, 2020 | CVMA CEO Brian Kingston on contract talks, the appeal of Canada, and pandemic relief
New Canadian Vehicle Manufacturers Association CEO Brian Kingston talks about what Ford’s and FCA’s EV commitments mean to the industry, what makes Canada a good place to invest and what his members would like to see in the way of government aid when it comes to helping the industry survive the COVID-19 pandemic.
October 30, 2020 | APMA’s Flavio Volpe on Project Arrow and Canada’s potential in EV manufacturing
Flavio Volpe, the head of the Canadian Automotive Parts Manufacturers’ Association, provides an update on Project Arrow, talks about “tapping into the spirit of the Avro Arrow,” and assesses the potential Canada has in electric-vehicle manufacturing.
October 23, 2020 | Magna CEO Don Walker on retiring, the company’s future and his successor
Retiring Magna CEO Don Walker talks about what he’s most proud of during his 33-year tenure, whether he has regrets, and says the ever-changing supply giant is in steady hands under his successor, Swamy Kotagiri.
October 16, 2020 | Taxpayers federation’s Aaron Wudrick on governments paying for auto investment
Canadian Taxpayers Federation Federal Director Aaron Wudrick says contract talks between Unifor and the Detroit Three have become “hostage negotiations,” with jobs and investment at stake if governments don’t contribute tax dollars to retooling projects. But, he doesn’t blame the automakers for taking the money, calling an automaker’s decision to do so “completely rational” because governments around the world have “opened the floodgates” to cash.
October 9, 2020 | J.D. Power’s Robert Karwel on shrinking inventory and rising prices
J.D. Power’s Robert Karwel says inventory levels won’t return to normal until at least early next year. But, in the meantime, incentives are down and prices and profitability are up in the retail market.
October 2, 2020 | Breaking down the Ford-Unifor deal and looking ahead to FCA talks
Automotive News Canada reporter John Irwin has covered auto talks on both sides of the border for years. He breaks down the latest deal between Ford and Unifor, looks ahead to the FCA talks and beyond to what the pattern, promised investment and new wage grow-in mean for unionized autoworkers.
September 25, 2020 | VW Canada CEO Pierre Boutin on the new ID4, virtual retail and ZEVs for all
Volkswagen Canada CEO Pierre Boutin talks about what the all-electric ID4 means for the brand, how the pandemic and more electrification at the automaker might affect dealers, and the need to attract more consumers to the brand in Canada.
September 18, 2020 | Vehiqilla CEO on Canada’s ‘huge opportunity’ in automotive cybersecurity
A.J. Khan, CEO of Vehiqilla Inc., says Canada has “a huge opportunity” in the automotive cybersecurity sector as more of the auto industry, from the supply chain to transportation infrastructure, becomes connected to the internet. He’s got warnings and advice for companies and consumers.