David Kennedy

The auto industry is beginning to chart the path to 100 per cent ZEV sales, and so are the operators of Canada’s electrical grid.

Two auto parts facilities that supply General Motors’ CAMI Assembly in Ingersoll, Ont. face closure as the plant that currently builds the Chevrolet Equinox east of London, Ont. transitions to producing electric delivery vans.

The 562,000 square-foot (52,000 square-metre) facility, situated just south of downtown Paris and directly adjacent to Highway 403, will serve as one of the automaker’s two new Ontario parts distribution centres.

Without vehicles on-hand, converting used buyers to new buyers or convincing service lane customers to look at upgrading has been a challenge.

Data-crunching tools are delivering auto parts with speed and precision.

StromVolt’s initial phase for the cell production site, planned for an unconfirmed location in Quebec, would cover 400,000 square feet (37,000 square metres) and be capable of producing cells with total capacity of 250 megawatt-hours per year.

After starting online, the luxury brand by Hyundai is adding stores so consumers can "see, touch and feel" the vehicles.

Outfitted with a series of advanced driver-assistance systems (ADAS), a Jeep Grand Cherokee is one part of a new $1.6-million autonomous vehicle research partnership between the Ontario university and auto parts supplier Magna International.

Kevin Pavlov joined ElectraMeccanica in May, having come from luxury EV maker Karma Automotive. He previously held several senior management roles at Canadian parts supplier Magna.

The growing wave of Canadian employers enacting mandatory-vaccine policies has automakers, parts suppliers and dealers walking a fine line between protecting their staff and infringing on their rights.

Canadians have voted to send the Liberals back to Ottawa with a minority mandate, maintaining the status quo on the handling of COVID-19 and signalling little change for the automotive industry.

While the White House said on Monday that the United States will ease foreign travel restrictions to the country beginning in November, allowing foreigners in if they have proof of vaccination and a negative COVID-19 test, the changes don’t apply to land crossings along the Canadian and Mexican borders.

Jim Witham, CEO of GaN Systems, would not specify the precise value of the BMW deal, nor could he share which models the automaker planned to use the transistors in. But the agreement, which will put BMW at the front of the line for the company’s new transistors, is part of an industry-wide shift toward lining up a steady supply of components well in advance, he said.

Platforms for two of the country’s three leading political parties back EV and manufacturing initiatives.