SEE YOU AT SEMA
Registration for the 2023 SEMA Show is officially open. This year’s annual trade event and industry week will take place from October 31, 2023 through November 3, 2023 at the Las Vegas Convention Center. Those interested in attending can register online at semashow.com/register.
MAKING SPACE
With all Ontarian eyes fixated on huge investments into the province’s auto sector as of late, the Ford government announced that a round of funding totalling more than $4.7 million is on the way to create the jobs to match industry growth. The announcement was made in London, Ontario, alongside representatives from the Automotive Parts Manufacturers Association (APMA) and the Automotive Industries Association of Canada (AIA), where two large-scale training projects were outlined. The project headed up by AIA Canada aims to equip 160 individuals with the skills to transition their careers into the electric vehicle (EV) sector, in the aim of bolstering recent investments into such technologies in Ontario. The government confirmed that Conestoga College (Guelph Campus), Fanshawe College (London Campus) and St. Lawrence College (Cornwall Campus) will be partnering to offer the courses. More information can be found here.
PAINTING WITH PATIENCE
Enterprise’s Q1 Length of Rental report is out and comes bearing the news that the average first quarter rental length is up by three full days from last year, as parts and labour shortages persist throughout the industry. The report notes that while this spike in national average LOR from Q1 2022 to Q1 2023 is significant, it is still smaller than the 4.3-day increase experienced from Q1 to Q4 of the 2021 fiscal year. On a provincial level, Prince Edward Island recorded both the highest LOR, at 20.5 days, and the most significant change, with the province seeing an average 9.2-day increase from Q1 2022 to Q1 2023. Quebec followed PEI with the second most drastic change to LOR, experiencing an increase of four days over the past year and recording the fourth highest LOR, 18.8 days, of the seven provinces accounted for by the report. Ontario, while only seeing a comparatively small increase of 2.8 days, currently has the second-highest LOR nationally, coming in at an average of 19.7 days.
LEADING THE WAY
A new bill tabled in Québec aims to amend the Consumer Protection Act to protect consumers from planned obsolescence and promote the durability, repairability and maintenance for goods in the province. If passed, Québec would be the first Canadian province—and one of few regions in North America—to protect the consumer’s right to choose where their vehicle is repaired. In response to the tabling of Bill 29, AIA Canada president J.F. Champagne said, “Québec will be a winner on all fronts: in addition to effectively fighting planned obsolescence and encouraging the repair of the automotive properly, it will ensure a plurality of services and freedom of choice for Québec consumers as well as the promotion of healthy competition and competitive prices in the auto repair market.
