Tim Reuss, President and CEO of CADA, tackled key issues facing dealers in a speech at the ACE Conference at the Fallsview Resort and Casino in Niagara Falls on Wednesday. He spoke candidly about many of the things that are on dealers’ minds, regarding the economy, government regulations and his views on the best way forward through the challenges and how to embrace opportunities.
Reuss provided an economic update that showed the market was down across Canada about 12.7% so far year to date. “This is all due to supply issues,” said Reuss.
He said CADA expects new vehicle sales to hit about 1.5 million vehicles this year, and added that the looming recession is a big question mark for next year’s numbers.
Reuss also addressed the “dumpster fire” that is the federal luxury tax that was recently imposed across the country. He said this tax has been tried unsuccessfully in the past, notably in the United States.
CADA’s lobbying was successful on one front. “We were able to convince them to actually turn this tax into a marginal tax. We said we still think it’s a stupid idea, but if you’re gonna implement it, at least do it this way, which is a marginal tax. Only the amount above a hundred thousand is now taxed by the tax, not ten per cent of the total, but 20 per cent of the portion above $100,000,” said Reuss.
In terms of data sharing between OEMs and dealerships, CADA recently released a number of guidelines about this issue.
He then spoke about electrification across the country, and how the uptake of these vehicles, which will be required by law to be 100 per cent of sales of new vehicles by 2035, is being clearly influenced by government incentives across the country. The gaps between the infrastructure required to support all these EVs and the numbers that will be on the road is a concern to CADA. “Canada has only committed to funding 84,500 public charging stations versus what will be required of 760,000,” said Reuss. “So there’s a significant gap there.”
The evolving relationship between OEMs goes beyond data sharing, and this was the final point Reuss had to make, about “changing the narrative”. “What we’re trying to accomplish here, and we’re starting to accomplish across the country, with the support of all provincial associations, and with the support of dealer councils, and CADA’s public work, is to change the narrative, he said. “Some manufacturers feel that dealer networks are a cost factor that needs to be optimized in this situation. But these networks are actually the OEM’s biggest asset against the true enemy, which are the new market entrants.”
Friends reconnect at ACE: Lindsay Duffield and Tim-Reuss
