The question, posed not long after the February announcement of Automotive News Canada’s July 1 launch, was asked innocently enough:
“Why,” asked a marketer at a leading auto parts supplier, “would you launch a news product in Canada? The industry couldn’t be at a lower point.”
As our friends in Quebec might say: Au contraire.
There are many of reasons behind the launch of this new product – a suite of media that includes email newsletters, a print issue and the plan for a future conference, videos, and much more.
Why are we doing this?
Because the Canadian market is as interesting and different as the regions we will write about.
It’s the compelling retail stories of dealership operators who are creative in their approach as dynamic entrepreneurs. It is behind the scenes at global suppliers who are innovative and technologically up to the challenge of transforming an industry. Or it’s the story of manufacturers who are designing and building vehicles that are being sold at a record level in this country.
Built in the model of sister publications Automotive News, Automotive News Europe, Automotive News China and German-language publication Automobilwoche, we will serve the reader. There is no other way.
The formula is one that easily transcends to a Canadian audience, which has so many interesting personalities and stories to tell. And the personalities are as unique as this vast country which is full of automotive history.
It is more than 50 years of the Pfaff Automotive Partners in retail, the nearly 60 years of supplier Magna International or Ford’s presence in Canada since 1904.
We will write about technology development in Ontario and retail best practices in British Columbia. We will deliver sales analysis, trends in manufacturing and changes in leasing and financing.
Above all, this is a media outlet written by Canadians, for Canadians.
At the June gathering of the Automotive Parts Manufacturer’s Association event in Windsor, Ont., former Ontario MPP Sandra Pupatello used three words to sum up the arrival of Automotive News Canada: “It’s about time.”
We agree.
