Automotive industry gets back on track

Tesla returned to the show with a lineup of vehicles including this Cybertruck. It also conducted test drives featuring its vehicles.

The 2024 Canadian International AutoShow has now come and gone. With last year’s impressive numbers, this year’s show promised to be bigger and better. And it certainly achieved that. The show set an attendance record, hosting more than 370,000 visitors across 10 days, and four single-day attendance records. The 371,559 guests that attended the show this year propelled it to be the best-attended show in its 51-year history. The previous record was set in 2018 with 358,842 attendees.

The show also welcomed an impressive lineup of auto manufacturers showcasing some of the latest and greatest innovations and achievements. The AutoShow featured 31 new vehicle debuts, a diverse and unique collection of luxury and exotic vehicles, and a number of attractions that supported the cars, trucks, and SUVs showcased by manufacturers.

Canadian Fabricating & Welding spoke with AutoShow General Manager Jason Campbell about this year’s show and the latest trends in Canadian automotive manufacturing.

CFW: What is the current state of auto manufacturing in Canada?

Jason Campbell: We’ve got a great manufacturing base. It's been here [in this region] for many years, but it’s transitioning. The advent of electric vehicles, especially with the focus that the Ontario and federal governments both placed on this particular sector and the inevitable drive that global car manufacturers around the world are pushing in this regard, we are seeing a shift. This is where the future of much of Canada's and Ontario's industrial strategy is focused on.

In terms of the automotive sector, we've seen the huge investments being made, both from companies as well as governments in the battery plant for Volkswagen Group. We’ve seen similar kinds of investment for Stellantis to build out their facilities for this new technology. We are seeing other companies exploring Canada, particularly Ontario, as a potential home. All of this is clearly going to have a big impact on our future development of the industrial base in the auto sector.

CFW: With significant investments in auto manufacturing in Canada and Ontario, how did that affect the Canadian International AutoShow?

Campbell: We were very excited this year at the return of the show. We had a number of additional brands come back to the show that did not participate last year. That was encouraging to see. Obviously, the southern Ontario region is the main headquarters for most of the brands that are operating in Canada. For example, General Motors sent over 2,000 employees to attend the show to see their products they produce on display. Ford has a big manufacturing facility nearby, and they always bring in a large number of key employee groups to the show.

Last year’s show was one that we just had to wait and hope. At the time when we were planning it, we didn’t know how much or how little the attendance would be impacted by COVID concerns. That proved to be a non-issue at the show. We had great audiences. We set attendance records on four of the 10 days of the show. We are really happy with how last year’s show went.

This year, we expanded the space to accommodate the 44 automotive brands we hosted, which was up from the 28 we had the previous year.

CFW: What is the value in shows like the Canadian International AutoShow?

Campbell: Our show has always been a very strong consumer show. This is a huge market. Forty per cent of all new car sales across Canada are dictated by what's going on in Ontario. Our show has a huge footprint and presence, both media and consumer-wise, in the southern Ontario region.

It influences a huge number of potential buyers. Every single brand that took part in the 2023 show returned again because they were able to steal customers from some of the brands that didn't decide to come last year, which is why many of those that opted out last year decided to return this year. We had numerous consumer interactions where people commented directly that they attended to see a specific brand and that brand wasn’t exhibiting, and they were disappointed. However, brands that they hadn’t considered really impressed them.

The Pfaff Automotive Partners presented an array of vehicles including the Pagani Zonda R Liquid, Huayra and Huayra Roadster, the McLaren 750S Spider (shown in McLaren orange), McLaren Artura plug-in hybrid, and a McLaren Mercedes SLR HDK, one of only 12 in the world (shown in blue).

In our opinion, the more brands, the better, and this year we definitely saw a big increase in brand participation. Last year, we saw a lot of enthusiasm expressed from the manufacturers to bring everybody back. It was a real coming out party, especially after the pandemic forced more of a digital approach in previous years. This was a big plus for those brands that took part last year and manufacturers. And with several brands returning this year after skipping last year, I think it sent the message that if you’ve got something new to say, new innovations to highlight, [the AutoShow] is the place to do it. What gets talked about and showcased here is spread right across the country, from coast to coast. It’s important.

CFW: What were some of the big innovations or highlights at this year’s show?

Campbell: We continued many great public interactive experiences of the show. Last year, we introduced Camp Jeep, which was an opportunity to be a passenger in a four-by-four course within the building, and we continued it this year. It was a very popular feature, with 26,000 test drives being done for consumers at the show.

We had an expanded number of manufacturers participating in the indoor test drive. We had nine brands last year, but this year we had 12. And we also did an outdoor EV test drive, where we had 6,000 test drives done last year and 10,000 this year. Things are just getting bigger and better, and this year really demonstrated the enthusiasm and growth.

We've expanded to another floor of the show that we didn't have last year. We needed that extra space to accommodate the number of consumers that were in the building. It was great to be back to our full operating capacity and have new features.

This year’s theme was revolution because the whole industry is in a state of revolution, whether it comes to new technologies that are being introduced, how cars are sold to consumers, to how dealers and manufacturers interact with each other. Obviously, EVs play a pretty central role in many manufacturers’ future plans.

Our media day was headlined by Rimac, a Croatian EV supercar company, which now is partly owned by Volkswagen Group and associated with Bugatti. They've got the world's fastest car. It's an EV, but it also is a true hypercar. Showcasing this certainly generated a lot of enthusiasm and interest. It was presented by Grand Touring Automobiles, which is celebrating its 50th anniversary this year. They showcased new product and new vehicles that have not been seen in Canada before.

The return of many of our popular brands, like Tesla, was a big hit at the show. They had an expanded presence in a more high-profile location and showcased their Cybertruck, which was exciting.

Volvo, Polestar, and Infiniti returned. BMW showcased one of their latest high-performance EVs. Rivian joined the show for the first time this year, so that was another great addition.

Outside of the new innovation and tech, we also wanted to focus on family fun. Mattel brought their pink Corvette Barbie car and Hot Wheels vehicles. Lego sold over 18 Lego pallets at last year's show, which was a big wow for us and double what they had anticipated. The Lego exhibit fires up kids’ imaginations and helps build their future imagination of vehicles. That was a fun one.

Porsche did one of their biggest-ever displays at the show. They brought a vehicle that was showcased for the first time to the public anywhere in the world.

There were 31 vehicle debuts, including this 2025 Kia Carnival.

The AutoShow is a cultural event. It’s a celebration that we’ve done for these 51 years. Many of our dealers referred to this show as Christmas in February. For anyone who loves cars, we continue to be not only a showcase of what’s latest and greatest, but we represent all things exciting in the auto sector, be it classic cars that we celebrate or tuner cars to the latest in micromobility technologies. We are everything and all things automotive here at the show. We hope to continue to grow and get more consumers engaged and interested in this industry. We will continue to welcome more manufacturers in to be part of this cultural celebration of the car.

CFW: How is the EV market changing?

Campbell: There's still a lot of work to be done from the car manufacturers and government to get the public to fully embrace this new technology. All the manufacturers have been very clear about things that need to be put in place, like EV charging stations. Brian Kingston, the president and CEO of the Canadian Vehicle Manufacturers’ Association, has talked extensively on the subject. There are not enough charging points to make long journeys in an electric vehicle. That's got to change.

I believe we've got to change our internal infrastructure. 2035 may sound like a long way off, but it's not that long. We've seen some of the challenges that the electricity grid has faced in the winter in the extreme cold weather. You can imagine having an entire fleet of EVs needing to be charged overnight. That’s a big government project that needs to be done quickly to be able to address some consumers’ concerns. They love them. Almost anyone who has driven or owns an EV, they love the experience of being in the car. The range is not so much of an anxiety, it’s refilling that is a question mark.

Many in the industry question if it's viable by 2035 to be fully electrified. That's a debate that will continue to play out. It played out at the show this year and it will play out for years to come. We all want to live in a cleaner world and do our part. We also need to consider what is practical. That’s the ongoing discussion between government and industry. At the show, we let the industry have this discussion on-site. We hosted a number of different government representatives that came to the show and held discussions with our industry.

The Canadian Automobile Dealers Association gets together with the Liberal and Conservative Auto Caucuses at our show, and we regularly host senior ministers from both the federal and provincial level so that the industry, when they're all here in one place, have a chance to speak to and be heard by those key decision-makers. We were happy to play host to that once again this year.

There is no doubt electric vehicles will play a significant role moving forward, and it's just a matter of how quickly we move from where we are today to where the government imagines us in 2035.

Recent Automotive Investment in Canada

The last few years, Canada has seen a rise in automotive manufacturing investments, and 2023 was no different. Here are a few of the latest investments made by automotive manufacturers with federal and provincial support.

April 2023 – Volkswagen invested $7 billion to establish its first overseas EV battery manufacturing plant in St. Thomas, Ont. The plant, Volkswagen’s largest to date, is set to be completed in 2027 and will create up to 3,000 direct jobs and up to 30,000 indirect jobs.

April 2023 – Ford Motor Co. invested $1.8 billion in its Oakville Assembly Plant to transform it into a high-volume hub of EV manufacturing in Canada. The campus, to be renamed Oakville Electric Vehicle Complex, will begin to retool and modernize in Q2 2024 to prepare for the production of next-generation EVs.

June 2023 – Mitsui High-tec Inc., a manufacturer of motor cores, the basic structure of the motor used in EVs, invested $102.3 million to expand its Canadian operations, creating 104 highly skilled, good-paying jobs while helping to build Ontario’s EV supply chain.

A life-sized version of the pink 1957 Chevy Corvette, styled for Barbie and inspired by the Barbie movie, made its Canadian debut at the AutoShow.

August 2023 - A consortium of Ford Motor Co. and South Korean companies plan to build a $1.2 billion plant to produce EV battery materials in Becancour, Que. Ottawa and Quebec announced an investment of more than $640 million for a new Ford EV plant. The factory is expected to be operational in the first half of 2026, creating more than 345 jobs.

September 2023 – Ottawa and Quebec announced $2.7 billion in funding for Northvolt, a Swedish battery developer, to build a new EV battery manufacturing plant east of Montreal. Up to 3,000 jobs will be created in the region as the plant reaches its full production potential.

October 2023 – Ottawa and Ontario finalized an agreement with Umicore Rechargeable Battery Materials Canada Inc. for a new plant in Loyalist Township. The facility will manufacture cathode active materials (CAM) and precursor cathode active materials (pCAM), critical components for producing EV batteries. The $2.76 billion project will create 600 new direct jobs, plus an additional 700 co-op positions for students.

October 2023 – PWO Canada Inc. announced a $9.6 million investment into its McBrine Drive location in Kitchener, Ont. The cash will support a new assembly line and 27 new jobs. Ontario is providing an additional $1.5 million to the initiative.

Associate Editor Lindsay Luminoso can be reached at lluminoso@fmamfg.org.

Canadian International AutoShow, autoshow.ca

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