ANC Podcast Replay | The week’s top stories and VW’s Edgar Estrada on on sales, product, EVs, more

Uniform members at General Motors Canada ratified a three-year contract.

It features a 3% annual wage increase in each year and comes with a $10,000 signing bonus.

GM will also invest $144 million to add GMC Sierra heavy-duty pickup production to its Oshawa assembly plant.

The automaker also committed to neither close nor sell its idled CAMI assembly plant in Ingersoll, Ontario.

That's where more than 1,000 laid-off workers remain without new product.

Sticking with the contract talks for a moment, having ratified its new three-year deal with GM, Unifor now faces its toughest round of talks.

The union opened negotiations with Stellantis this week, demanding the automaker restore production at its idled Brampton assembly plant.

About 2,200 workers have been laid off since 2023.

Unifor President Lana Payne says Stellantis must look beyond current U.S. tariffs and protect its long-term Canadian manufacturing footprint.

And we end with EV news.

Canada has opened the door to another 24,500 China-made electric vehicles as its import quota resets.

Ottawa allows 49,000 such vehicles annually under a trade deal that replaced a 100% tariff.

Nearly 16,000 permits were issued during the first six months of the program.

That leaves more than 33,000 available through February.

Chinese automakers BYD, Cherry and Geely are preparing to enter the Canadian market.

And that's a look at some of the top Canadian automotive stories of the week.

You can find more on those and other stories at our website, automotivenews.ca. Coming up, we hear a replay of a conversation I had August 7th with Volkswagen Canada CEO Edgar Estrada.

Uniform members at General Motors Canada ratified a three-year contract.

It features a 3% annual wage increase in each year and comes with a $10,000 signing bonus.

GM will also invest $144 million to add GMC Sierra heavy-duty pickup production to its Oshawa assembly plant.

The automaker also committed to neither close nor sell its idled CAMI assembly plant in Ingersoll, Ontario.

That's where more than 1,000 laid-off workers remain without new product.

Sticking with the contract talks for a moment, having ratified its new three-year deal with GM, Unifor now faces its toughest round of talks.

The union opened negotiations with Stellantis this week, demanding the automaker restore production at its idled Brampton assembly plant.

About 2,200 workers have been laid off since 2023.

Unifor President Lana Payne says Stellantis must look beyond current U.S. tariffs and protect its long-term Canadian manufacturing footprint.

And we end with EV news.

Canada has opened the door to another 24,500 China-made electric vehicles as its import quota resets.

Ottawa allows 49,000 such vehicles annually under a trade deal that replaced a 100% tariff.

Nearly 16,000 permits were issued during the first six months of the program.

That leaves more than 33,000 available through February.

Chinese automakers BYD, Cherry and Geely are preparing to enter the Canadian market.

And that's a look at some of the top Canadian automotive stories of the week.

You can find more on those and other stories at our website, automotivenews.ca. Coming up, we hear a replay of a conversation I had August 7th with Volkswagen Canada CEO Edgar Estrada.