Canadian auto dealer

"Why are the feds developing a hydrogen strategy? And why have both Alberta and Quebec committed funding to the hydrogen industry?" @GerrymAuto

Futurist Jeremy Gutsche, CEO of Trend Hunter and New York Times best-selling author, offers a sneak preview of keynote address at 2021 CADA Summit. Jeremy Gutsche

A lack of new vehicle models and higher prices for used car inventory due to COVID-19 has paved a way forward for fixed ops to finally step into the limelight. PureCars Dealer-FX ShuttleControl

You don’t want to reinvent the wheel every time you need to purchase a used vehicle, says Maria Soklis, President of Cox Automotive Canada. You want one integrated platform that can quickly and consistently get all those wheels working together and moving in the same direction to save time, energy and money. #CoxAutoCan

CADA's Karen O’Connell discusses some of the biggest changes to the CADA 360 program over the years, along with benefits for dealers and new developments, and what it means for the program to reach the 70-year milestone. #CdnAutoCADA

Maria Soklis, President of Cox Automotive Canada and Brazil, and Emiliano Void, National Operations Manager, Dealer. com, talk about systemic racism in Canada’s auto industry, and what their organization is doing to help lead change. @CoxAutoCan

"We need to set an example by providing equal opportunities and ensuring everyone feels welcome and comfortable to bring their true self to work without any form of discrimination," said Maria Soklis, President of Cox Automotive Canada and Brazil. https://canadianautodealer.ca//cox-automotive-signs-black/

Chrystia Freeland, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Finance, released a 237-page Supporting Canadians and Fighting COVID-19 plan on November 30. The report includes a section that includes funding of $287 million to cover the Incentives for Zero-Emission Vehicles Program Top-Up.

John Peron, Managing Director of Hunter Canada, discusses the company’s Innovation Expo meant to showcase new products and stay connected to dealers.

In what has already been a tough year, dealers may now need to brace themselves for a shortage in winter tires, tire storage, and delays in deliveries of certain brands and sizes.

In spite of the ongoing effects of the COVID-19 pandemic, October sales of 156,095 new vehicles in Canada were down just 2.1% from the same month last year, based on estimates by DesRosiers Automotive Consultants (DAC). Read the full report on Cad:

I would probably say that leads haven’t been as relevant as they used to be for a long time now, maybe even 10 years, said Ian MacDonald, CMO at TRADER Corporation. We still look at leads probably a bit too much, and there are a couple of reasons why leads can be misleading, excuse the pun. #autotraderca

Check out our October 2020 digital issue: featured stories include @tada.ca virtual conference and expo, cyber security, F&I, the used vehicle advantage, and more. https://bluetoad.com/publication/?m=63659&i=677127&p=1

Check out our October 2020 digital issue of Canadian auto dealer, which tackles topics like cyber security, F&I, used vehicles, virtual events, and more.

October is Cybersecurity Awareness Month. To learn more about how you can protect your dealership, read our latest coverage on the issue: (MNP) https://bluetoad.com/publication/?m=63659&i=677127&p=22

A new tool known as EGID aims to help businesses help their employees maintain the required 2-metre social distancing standard when working. Read the full story:

Canadian wholesale used vehicle prices for September jumped 1.5%, and in doing so set a new all-time record high for the Canadian Black Book Used Vehicle Retention Index. #CanBlackBook

Michelle Denogean, CMO of #roadsterusa, offers a sneak peek at an in-depth study they did with the National Automobile Dealers Association (NADA), where they asked 236 dealerships about the impact COVID has had on their store and how it has impacted staff sales, profitability, and gross.

New car leads (replies) per listing have increased by 135 per cent in August year-over-year on Kijiji Autos properties, according to the company’s national trend report for August 2020. Kijiji Autos

The first virtual Auto Dealers Innovation Series & Expo (ADIS), presented by the Trillium Automobile Dealers Association (TADA) on September 24, dug deep into current issues that the industry is now struggling with and offered Q&A sessions for dealers to explore the topics more in-depth. #tada_ca

Diana Conte, Events and Conferences Lead TADA, talks about the Auto Dealers Innovation Series Conference & Expo taking place this week on Thursday Sept. 24 on a virtual platform. #TADA_CA

Canadian dealerships are boosting customer satisfaction, market-share, and per-visit cost, according to a recent J.D. Power 2020 Canada Customer Service Index. #JDPower

The winners of the 2020 Alberta Dealer of Excellence awards have been announced by the Motor Dealers Association of Alberta (MDA). Garrett Scott of Scottsville Automotive Group in Red Deer, and Kelly Temple of Eastside Kia in Calgary, won the award in the non-metro and metro categories, respectively. https://canadianautodealer.ca//mda-reveals-2020-alberta-d/

The Canadian International AutoShow is going virtual for 2021, in response to ongoing concerns and uncertainty around the COVID-19 pandemic and large public indoor gatherings. #CIAS

Selling new vehicles may be the main focus where fully electric models are concerned, but the pre-owned market also offers opportunity for dealers.

After climbing back to within 4.9% of the year-ago norm in July, Canadian auto sales in August were down about 8.9% from the same month in 2019, as estimated by DesRosiers Automotive Consultants (DAC). https://canadianautodealer.ca//canadian-auto-sales-stabil/

Diane Conte, Events and Conferences, TADA, talks about the Auto Dealers Innovation Series Conference & Expo taking place on a virtual platform Sept. 24. The event features keynotes, networking opportunities and more than 25 virtual exhibits.

The effectiveness of your dealership’s sanitization process relies heavily on the products being used, which begs the question: are you using the right solution? Wecleancovid19.com

Price point, charge time, and range are among the key tipping points to achieve mainstream electric vehicle adoption, according to Castrol’s Accelerating the EVolution study.

Milan Malivuk, VP of Sales and Marketing at Crowdblink, about a new screening technology for #dealership employees and customers. The platform helps measure and record temperatures and other details to help ensure employee safety and contact tracing. Crowdblink

Canadian auto dealer editor Todd Phillips interviews David McClean, Director of Marketing for the Canadian International AutoShow, about the decision to host the event on a virtual platform for 2021. The Official Canadian International AutoShow

The automotive industry is in second place out of 15 industries in MBLM’s U.S. Brand Intimacy 2020 Study, which reviews various brands based on emotions. https://canadianautodealer.ca//automotive-slots-2nd-in-br/

"The first victims of these #tariffs will be the Americans themselves," said Canada’s Deputy Prime Minister, Chrystia Freeland, during an August 7 press conference in which she discussed the country’s approach to looming U.S. tariffs. aluminum https://canadianautodealer.ca//canada-plans-3-6b-in-retal/

It seems to have been a long time coming, but there is definitely some good news in Canada’s new-vehicle sales figures for July. Estimated sales of 165,020 units are just 4.9% below last year’s July figures. Indeed, according to DesRosiers Automotive Consultants (DAC), July 2020 sales were the seventh-best ever for the month. https://canadianautodealer.ca//july-canadian-auto-sales-c/

As COVID-19 cases continue to climb in the United States, automotive digital marketing platform PureCars released a report meant to provide insight into the current situation for dealers and help get them through the remaining summer period. PureCars #COVID19 #dealership https://canadianautodealer.ca//purecars-offers-overview-o/

Trevor Tamke of MNP talks about the changes to the wage #subsidy (#CEWS), including doing away with the 30% revenue decline threshold & plans to extend the program until later this year. He also explores what the changes will mean for Canadian dealers. https://canadianautodealer.ca//video-interview-mnp-explor/

The federal government has submitted a proposal to do away with the 30% revenue drop eligibility threshold for the Canada Emergency Wage Subsidy (CEWS), and plans to expand the program. There is also a proposed base subsidy and top-up subsidy. More on that here: https://canadianautodealer.ca//cews-proposal-aims-to-chan/ A Canadian auto dealer interview with MNP on the matter is also coming up on July 24. Stay tuned!

Wholesale values are stabilizing and true market demand will make itself known in the weeks or months ahead. These are the latest key observations from Canadian Black Book pulled from its weekly COVID-19 update released on July 21. #CanBlackBook #wholesale #COVID19 #autos More on that here: https://canadianautodealer.ca//cbb-wholesale-values-stabi/

77% of car shoppers intend to buy a vehicle now or within the next two or three months after the lockdown, according to a Kijiji Autos COVID-19 Consumer Sentiment Survey. Kijiji Autos #COVID19 https://canadianautodealer.ca//kijiji-autos-77-car-shoppe/

Todd Bourgon, Exec. Dir., #TADA_CA talks about the association’s Auto Dealers Innovation Series and Expo, powered by the ACE event in September. The event will feature keynotes, exhibitors and ways for attendees to connect. https://canadianautodealer.ca//video-interview-todd-bourg/

Jill Hadfield, Chief Product Officer at TRADER, talks about the recent launch of a new digital retailing solution on autoTRADER.ca marketplace amid the pandemic, what this means for dealers, and how she sees digital retailing evolving in the coming years. autoTRADER.ca #digitalretailing https://canadianautodealer.ca//video-interview-jill-hadfi/

The Trump administration has threatened to impose tariffs on aluminum coming from Canada a move that was used just last year as leverage to negotiate the new NAFTA agreement, or the U.S.-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA) as it is known in the U.S. That agreement came into effect on July 1 (Canada Day), so there is no trade deal to negotiate this time around. https://canadianautodealer.ca//trump-threatens-tariffs-on/

Mercedes-Benz Downtown Calgary dealer Perry Itzcovitch and its General Manager Mazen Aboulhosn discuss the strategy behind how the dealership achieved a new record of 260 Certified Pre-Owned sales in a month amid the pandemic, which they describe as an increase of more than 200 per cent over their previous record. https://canadianautodealer.ca//dealer-perry-itzcovitch-an/

Canadian auto dealer editor Todd Phillips interviews Brett Morris, Chairman/Co-founder at Perception Group, about a new tech platform that helps dealers better predict which candidates will be successful based on data and analytics.

Kole Hicks has been appointed by #AutocorpTech as its new Executive Vice President. Autocorp Technologies is a Canadian-based fintech company with its head office located in Ottawa, Ont.

Canadian auto dealer editor Todd Phillips interviews Matt Gould, Co-founder, HTI(The Higher Technological Institute) and leadership coach about strategies for dealerships and their senior managers for managing through the pandemic and beyond. It’s all about relationships, and shared accountability, says Gould.

Canadian auto dealer editor Todd Phillips interviews Glen Demetrioff, President & CEO of Rapid RTC, about the company’s new Live Dealer product that enables chat, voice, and live one- or two-way video with customers to help with digital retailing efforts. RAPID RTC

Christopher Nadolny, Vice President of Risk Management at Pitcher & Doyle, talks about the rise in fraudulent activities in dealerships and offers advice on what dealers can do to better manage the situation. #pitcheranddoyle #fraud #dealership

Wholesale prices continued its slow decline in Canada while all car segments of 2-8 year-old vehicles declined by 0.58%, according to Canadian Black Book’s latest COVID-19 automotive market weekly update. #CanBlackBook

Canadian auto dealer presents a new series sponsored by Catalytic Technology that aims to provide some background on the terminology, forces, and directions that are driving and impacting the auto retail industry.

Dealers are worried that access to the Canada Emergency Wage Subsidy (CEWS) program, described by the Canadian Automobile Dealers Association (CADA) as a critical lifeline for dealerships and employees, will disappear once revenue declines dip below the 30% mark. #CdnAutoCADA

Pitcher and Doyle have released a notice to warn auto retailers about the dramatic increase in the number of fraudulent deals stemming from #dealerships. #fraud

The longer-term impacts of the pandemic are just starting to manifest. It will be anything but business as usual for automotive retailers. #COVID19

Estimated sales of 113,224 new vehicles in Canada in May represented a 44.0% decline from the same month last year. And that’s good news! While it is a dramatic loss of sales for what should be the strongest month of the year in normal times, it is a huge improvement from the 74.6% decline that decimated the market in April. #COVID19 #automotive #sales

Digital Air Strike COO Erica Sietsma discusses what the company is doing to help dealers on the digital front, to boost sales, including leveraging social media platforms like Facebook. #DigitalAirStrk #COVID19

Car buyers will closely scrutinize vehicle sanitization steps; COVID-19 pandemic will bring downstream challenges as well, and with some unusual new ways to differentiate your dealership. #COVID19 #pandemic #carbuyer

The new abnormal: How dealers in Canada are adapting and operating during the novel coronavirus pandemic. #COVID19 #cardealer

Robert Karbaum, Head of Business Development at Kijiji Autos, talks about the company’s latest Monthly Trend Report for April and the user increase in online car research and intent to buy, along with how the data is spread across provinces in Canada. Kijiji Autos

Karen O’Connell, Director of Governance & Plan Management, Benefits 360 Health & Welfare Trust, CADA, discusses the association’s response to the COVID-19 pandemic through CADA 360 and other innovations that were launched this year. #CdnAutoCADA The video interview can be found here: https://canadianautodealer.ca//video-interview-cadas-kare/

Ian MacDonald, Vice President of Strategic Marketing, autoTRADER.ca, talks about TRADER’s recent survey on what will prompt consumers to purchase a vehicle, and discusses the three areas dealers need to cover to help consumers on that path.

Less than 14% of used car dealerships in Ontario kept their stores open and running with regular hours in April, while the remaining percentage of dealerships were split between reduced hours or closure, according to DesRosiers Automotive Consultants (DAC).

Additional help is on the way for automotive retailers, as the Canadian Chamber of Commerce launched a new, government-funded program on May 25 that aims to help small- to medium-sized businesses, not-for-profit organizations, and charities.