Automotive News Canada - November 2017 - 26

* N O V E M B E R 2 017

AUTONOMOUS LEGISLATION

GROUND
FLOOR
Players from all walks of
industry and government
are expected to line up to
influence laws in Canada

FEDERAL RESPONSIBILITY

Jack said the federal government is
able to take the lead through two constitutional angles: vehicle safety and
telecommunications. Both are federal responsibilities. Key to the introduction of self-driving vehicles will be vehicle-to-vehicle and vehicle-to-infrastructure communications, most likely using
upcoming 5G cellular technology.
The CAA supports a collaborative
approach as opposed to the federal government taking over highway traffic regulations, a process that would require
constitutional amendments.
"We've seen that movie before. It's
very long and it usually doesn't end
well."

By KELLY TAYLOR

WINNIPEG CORRESPONDENT

A SENATE COMMITTEE STUDY AND A
push by the federal government to bring
provinces together on regulations and
highway-traffic laws is a turn in the right
direction for the introduction of autonomous vehicles in Canada, according to
the Canadian Automobile Association
(CAA).
Ian Jack, managing director, national and government affairs, said the association supports the federal initiative -
through Transport Canada and Industry
Science and Economic Development -
for taking preliminary steps to prepare
for cars that can drive
themselves.
"It's early days, so
we'll withhold judgment on how they're
doing, but they're
studying and pondering," Jack told
Automotive
News Canada.
"As long as
that process doesn't
go on ad infinitum ... I
mean at some point they have to
come up with something."

FEDERAL-PROVINCIAL DIRECTION
Jack is excited about the work being
done by the Senate Standing Committee
on Transport and Telecommunications,
which has been tasked by the federal government to establish a "road map" for
self-driving vehicles. It is due around
Christmas.
"The guy running it (Sen. Dennis
Dawson) is really first-rate and the witness list - and not just because we're
on it - is quite promising," Jack said. "It's
going to be quite influential, and while the
government may not
take it all in one lump
sum, it's going to be a
bit of a road map."
Transport Canada,
which governs vehicle safety, said as
Regulatory
the introduction of
capacity lies
self-driving vehicles
with Ottawa over
nears, that work is
the provinces,
under way to bring
says Ian Jack
provinces and the
of the Canadian
federal government
Automobile
together.
Association.
"The jurisdictions ( P H O T O : C A A )
are collectively looking at the issues with these types of vehicles," Transport Canada said in a statement. "In addition, many of the jurisdictions, including Transport Canada, are
reviewing the implications of self-driving
cars on responsibilities under their mandates."

As long as that process doesn't go
on ad infinitum . . . I mean at some
point they have to come
up with something.
IAN JACK

Canadian Automobile Association
Complicating the issue, he said, is the
deadline for legalization of marijuana,
which has governments scrambling
to deal with logistical
issues, as well as issues
surrounding impaired
driving.
"There's not a lot of
regulatory capacity
with the provinces
right now."
Nissan has put
itself at the fore of
autonomous vehicles,
most famously with
the proclamation in
2015 by then-CEO Carlos
Ghosn that the company will have
autonomous vehicles on the road by 2020.
Nissan has since clarified that it
intends to have 10 models launched by
2020 featuring ProPILOT Assist, which
will still require full driver engagement
but offers electronic assistance including, within two years, assisted braking,
steering and accelerating in highway
driving and within four years, assisted steering, braking and accelerating
during city driving.
"Nissan believes autonomous-drive
vehicles will revolutionize mobility,"
spokeswoman Jennifer McCarthy wrote
in an email. "We appreciate the exploration of ways to provide a policy landscape that supports the deployment of
automated-vehicle technology.
"Nissan will continue to work with
other automakers, its associations and,
of course, policymakers to foster innovation for these important technologies."

CHANGE OF MIND
Manitoba, which as late as last year
had put off questions of autonomous
vehicles - saying the province doesn't
expect to see such vehicles until 2025 -
has since updated its position.
"All provinces and the federal government have been working cooperatively on this issue," said a spokesman for
Manitoba Infrastructure.
"The department is actively monitoring the development and deployment
of automated technologies and autonomous vehicles and is reviewing provincial legislation and exploring options
for regulating autonomous vehicles in
Manitoba." - ANC

GM Canada drives
record October sales

Automaker boosts
its sales 26.5 per
cent despite a
passenger-car slide
of 20 per cent;
Ford cars take
a 39-per-cent dive
By JEREMY SINEK

TORONTO CORRESPONDENT

A RECORD SALES MONTH in
October brought the auto industry even closer to topping two
million sales a year in Canada
for the first time.
Sales for the month totalled
164,643 vehicles, up 6.3 per cent
over October 2016, according
to numbers compiled by the
Automotive News Data Center
in Detroit.
October's numbers brought
total sales this year to about
1.76 million vehicles through
10 months, up 5.6 per cent over
the same period last year; every
month but April set a record
this year.
GM Canada was a driving force behind the October
record, growing its sales 26.5
per cent to 26,847 units, while
market leader Ford fell two per
cent to 21,068.
Could GM finally reclaim its
status as Canada's top-selling
automaker by year end? It suddenly seems conceivable: with
two months to go, GM currently lags Ford by just 7,760 sales,
year to date.
"GM is on track to sell more
than [300,000] units this year,
which would be their best performance since 2008," said
auto-industry analyst Dennis
DesRosiers. "This GM-versusFord matchup will be worth
watching to the end of the
year."
Even with FCA Canada
posting an 11.9-per-cent drop,
GM's strength helped Detroit
achieve a combined 4.6-per-cent
increase in October.
But while the Detroit automakers jostled for position at

MOVERS
& SHAKERS

(Compared with the same
month a year ago)
* Chrysler 300: +597%
* Mercedes AMG GT: +473%
* Audi A5: +411%
* Toyota Prius: +314%
* Volvo XC60: +290%
* Porsche Cayman: +220%
* Kia Rondo: +203%
* Fiat 500 L: -97%
* Fiat 500X: -93%
* Ford Expedition: -91%
* Fiat 500: -87%
* Ram Promaster City: -77%
* Ford Fusion: -65%
* BMW 3 Series: -58%

FULL OF SURPRISES
* Volvo total sales: +58%
* Truck sales: 70% of market
* Dodge Grand Caravan:
Out of the top 10 in sales

The Ford F series pickup
retained the lead among fullsize trucks; but sales of the
Dodge Grand Caravan fell 11
per cent, dropping it out of the
top 10 for year.
(PHOTOS: FORD, FCA)

the top, the offshore brands
advanced their sales 7.4 per
cent, nibbling away a little
more at Detroit's market share.
Every offshore automaker
grew its sales in October, with
gains ranging from Kia's 0.4
per cent, to Volvo's 58 per cent.
Porsche, Mazda, Land Rover,
Honda, and Toyota Canada
were among those claiming
October records.
"We estimate that the annualized sales pace remained
above two million units for the
eighth time this year, pointing
to ongoing strong consumer
spending into the final months
of 2017," said Scotiabank Senior
Economist Carlos Gomes.
October was an especially lean month for Detroit passenger cars. Even buoyant GM
saw its car sales slide 20 per
cent (while its light-truck sales
spiked 44 per cent); Ford's car
sales plunged 39 per cent and
FCA's 28 per cent.
Car sales of the offshore
brands were less affected, down
3.8 per cent, but for the overall
market, light-truck sales surged
13.6 per cent while cars sagged
7.9 per cent. Bottom line: Light
trucks edged above 70 per cent
of total sales for the month,
which is a rare feat even in
today's truck-heavy climate.
Contributing to that: record
October sales for Ford's juggernaut, the F series pickup, which
increased 25 per cent to 10,591.
But combined sales of GM's
Chevrolet/GMC full-size trucks
vaulted 45 per cent to 10,312,
within a whisker of topping the
Ford.
In third place, Ram truck
sales slipped in October, but
year to date are still 16 per
cent ahead of last year's pace.
But another FCA mainstay
fared less well in October: an
11-per-cent decline in sales of
the Dodge Grand Caravan saw
Canada's minivan quietly slip
out of the year-to-date top-10
nameplates chart.
Not much else changes in the
top 10, with Detroit's big pickups in the top three positions,
Honda Civic still comfortably
leading passenger-car sales
ahead of the Toyota Corolla,
while the Toyota RAV4, Honda
CR-V and Ford Escape vie for
utility-sales leadership. - ANC

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Automotive News Canada - November 2017