Rev up your engines, because Canada's automotive industry roared back to life in 2022 with a 12.5% surge in production, a remarkable recovery driven by Ontario's powerhouse plants and a strategic charge into the electric future.
Key Takeaways
- In 2022, Canadian automotive assembly plants produced a total of 1,247,183 light vehicles, marking a 12.5% increase from 2021
- Ontario accounted for 92% of Canada's total vehicle production in 2023, assembling 1,651,000 units primarily in Windsor, Oshawa, and Cambridge plants
- Ford's Oakville Assembly Plant in Ontario had a production capacity of 365,000 vehicles annually as of 2023, focusing on SUVs and crossovers
- The Canadian automotive industry employed 125,000 direct workers in manufacturing as of 2023, with 60% in Ontario
- Automotive sector supported 580,000 total jobs including indirect in 2022, per multiplier effect of 4.6
- Average hourly wage in Canadian auto assembly was CAD 35.50 in 2023, 25% above national average
- In 2023, Canada sold 1.6 million new light vehicles, a 12% increase from 2022
- Pickup trucks held 22.5% market share in 2023 Canadian sales, led by Ford F-Series at 148,000 units
- Electric vehicles captured 11.7% of new sales in 2023, totaling 188,000 units
- In 2023, Canada exported 1.45 million vehicles worth CAD 68 billion, primarily to the US
- US received 97% of Canadian vehicle exports in 2023, valued at CAD 66 billion
- Automotive parts exports: CAD 52 billion in 2023, to 100 countries
- The automotive industry contributed CAD 45 billion to Canada's GDP in 2023, or 2.1% of total
- Investments in EV manufacturing: CAD 15 billion committed since 2021
- Supplier sector GDP: CAD 25 billion from 700 firms in 2023
Canada's automotive industry is thriving with strong production and growing electric vehicle investment.
Economic Impact and Investments
- The automotive industry contributed CAD 45 billion to Canada's GDP in 2023, or 2.1% of total
- Investments in EV manufacturing: CAD 15 billion committed since 2021
- Supplier sector GDP: CAD 25 billion from 700 firms in 2023
- Tax revenues from auto: CAD 12 billion federal/provincial in 2022
- R&D spending: CAD 2.8 billion by OEMs in Canada 2023
- Government incentives: CAD 34 billion for battery plants by 2030
- Multiplier effect: every auto job creates 4.2 indirect jobs
- Export GDP share: 25% of manufacturing GDP from auto in 2023
- Stellantis Windsor investment: CAD 1.5 billion for next-gen minivan
- GM Ingersoll Ultium: CAD 5 billion plant, 2,500 jobs
- Ford Oakville retool: CAD 1.8 billion for EV production
- Honda Alliston hybrid upgrade: CAD 1.4 billion
- Total FDI in auto: CAD 20 billion 2021-2023
- Productivity growth: 3.2% annual in auto manufacturing 2022-2023
- Carbon pricing impact: CAD 500 million annual cost to sector
- Trade balance surplus: CAD 18 billion vehicles/parts 2023
- Quebec battery hub: CAD 7 billion investments
- Skills training ROI: CAD 4 return per dollar invested
- 2024 GDP projection: CAD 48 billion from auto sector
- Community contributions: CAD 150 million charities from auto firms 2023
- Inflation impact: 6% cost increase passed to consumers 2023
- Digital transformation spend: CAD 1.2 billion in Industry 4.0
Economic Impact and Investments Interpretation
Canada’s auto sector is betting a colossal, government-backed stack of chips on an electric future, proving that while it may grumble about carbon costs, it is fully charged with productivity, exports, and a multiplier effect that ensures its economic engine—from minivans to megafactories—keeps the whole country firmly in the driver's seat.
Employment Data
- The Canadian automotive industry employed 125,000 direct workers in manufacturing as of 2023, with 60% in Ontario
- Automotive sector supported 580,000 total jobs including indirect in 2022, per multiplier effect of 4.6
- Average hourly wage in Canadian auto assembly was CAD 35.50 in 2023, 25% above national average
- 15,000 new jobs created in EV battery plants by 2025 projection
- Women comprised 22% of automotive manufacturing workforce in 2022, up from 18% in 2018
- Unionized workforce: 85% of direct auto employees under CAW/Unifor in 2023
- Supplier jobs: 200,000 in parts manufacturing across Canada in 2023
- Youth employment (under 25): 8% of total auto sector in 2022
- Indigenous workers: 2.5% representation in auto industry, 1,200 individuals in 2023
- Skilled trades shortage: 10,000 vacancies projected for 2024 in auto welding and machining
- Average tenure: 12 years for auto assembly workers in 2023
- Part-time jobs: only 3% in direct manufacturing, mostly admin
- EV transition to create 50,000 new skilled jobs by 2030
- Ontario auto jobs: 110,000 in 2023, Quebec 8,000, others minor
- Training programs enrolled 5,000 workers in EV tech in 2023
- Layoffs in 2023: 2,500 due to chip shortage, recovered by Q4
- Productivity per worker: 10.2 vehicles annually in 2022
- Immigrant workforce: 28% of auto manufacturing employees in 2023
- Safety record: 1.8 lost-time injuries per 100 workers in 2022
- Remote work: 5% in auto admin roles post-COVID in 2023
- Wage growth: 4.2% annual increase for auto workers 2022-2023
- 2024 employment forecast: 130,000 direct jobs with EV ramp-up
- Disability employment: 4% in auto sector, supported by programs
- Shift workers: 75% of assembly line employees on rotating shifts
Employment Data Interpretation
The Canadian auto industry is a high-wage, union-dense engine room predominantly anchored in Ontario, employing a stable and increasingly diverse workforce, but it's revving its electric engines toward a future that demands more skilled tradespeople and a better gender balance to meet its ambitious growth projections.
Production Statistics
- In 2022, Canadian automotive assembly plants produced a total of 1,247,183 light vehicles, marking a 12.5% increase from 2021
- Ontario accounted for 92% of Canada's total vehicle production in 2023, assembling 1,651,000 units primarily in Windsor, Oshawa, and Cambridge plants
- Ford's Oakville Assembly Plant in Ontario had a production capacity of 365,000 vehicles annually as of 2023, focusing on SUVs and crossovers
- General Motors Canada produced 456,000 vehicles at its Ingersoll and Oshawa facilities in 2022, with 60% being electric vehicle components
- Stellantis' Windsor Assembly Plant manufactured 410,000 vehicles in 2022, specializing in Chrysler Pacifica minivans and Dodge Charger sedans
- In Q1 2024, Canadian vehicle production reached 354,000 units, up 5.2% year-over-year, driven by EV assembly lines
- Honda's Alliston plant in Ontario produced 380,000 Civic and CR-V models in 2023, with 25% exported to the US
- Toyota's Cambridge and Woodstock plants combined output 520,000 vehicles in 2022, including RAV4 hybrids
- Canada's engine production totaled 2.1 million units in 2022, with 70% from southern Ontario facilities
- Stampings and parts production in Canada reached CAD 15.6 billion in value in 2023, supporting 150 suppliers
- In 2023, 28,000 electric vehicle batteries were produced in Canada, primarily at GM's Ingersoll plant
- Average daily vehicle production rate in Canada was 4,850 units in December 2023
- Canada's automotive sector produced 1.4 million powertrain components in Q4 2023 alone
- Ingersoll's CAMI Assembly began Ultium battery production at 40 GWh annual capacity in 2023
- Oshawa Assembly Plant ramped up to 100,000 EV units projected for 2024 after retooling
- Windsor plant's WRX line produced 250,000 minivans in 2023, with 40% electrified variants
- Oakville plant's retooling for EVs will yield 400,000 units annually starting 2025
- Alliston plant exported 95,000 vehicles to the US in 2023
- Cambridge Toyota plant hit 5 million cumulative vehicles since 1988 as of 2023
- Canadian parts content in vehicles averaged 45% in 2022 production
- Q2 2023 vehicle production: 320,000 units, down 2% due to chip shortages
- 2023 total light truck production: 1,120,000 units, 85% of total output
- EV production share rose to 8% of total Canadian output in 2023
- Diesel engine production: 450,000 units in 2022, mainly for exports
- Supplier network produced CAD 28 billion in parts for assembly in 2023
- 2024 forecast: 1.6 million vehicles, with 15% EVs
- Windsor Jeep line: 180,000 Wrangler units in 2023
- Ingersoll battery modules: 500,000 shipped domestically in 2023
- Total 2023 production hours: 45 million labor hours in assembly
Production Statistics Interpretation
While Ontario’s industrial heartland is quite literally powering a national automotive resurgence—producing over 90% of Canada’s vehicles, a surging number of them electric—it’s clear the country’s economic engine is running on a charge, a chip, and an unshakable supply chain all its own.
Sales and Market Share
- In 2023, Canada sold 1.6 million new light vehicles, a 12% increase from 2022
- Pickup trucks held 22.5% market share in 2023 Canadian sales, led by Ford F-Series at 148,000 units
- Electric vehicles captured 11.7% of new sales in 2023, totaling 188,000 units
- Toyota RAV4 was top-selling model with 52,000 units in 2023
- Ontario represented 40% of total new vehicle registrations in 2023
- Used vehicle sales: 2.1 million in 2023, average price CAD 32,500
- SUV/Crossover segment: 55% market share in 2023 sales
- Ford F-Series sales: 148,210 units, retaining #1 spot for 47th year
- Hyundai captured 8.2% market share with 131,000 vehicles sold in 2023
- Q4 2023 sales: 430,000 units, up 18% YoY
- Luxury segment: 12% share, BMW leading with 32,000 sales
- Average new vehicle price: CAD 52,300 in 2023, up 5%
- Dealer inventory averaged 45 days supply in 2023
- Fleet sales: 25% of total new vehicles in 2023
- Quebec EV sales: 45,000 units, 14% market share provincially
- Incentives boosted EV sales by 30% in rebate programs 2023
- Ram 1500 sales: 45,000 units, 2nd best-selling truck
- Market share by brand: Toyota 15.8%, Ford 13.2% in 2023
- 2024 Q1 sales: 364,000 units, EV at 13.5% share
- Import share of sales: 85% of new vehicles sold in Canada assembled abroad
- Honda CR-V: 42,000 sales, top SUV
- Diesel vehicle sales: 2.5% share, 40,000 units in 2023
- Online sales: 15% of transactions in 2023, up from 8%
- Lease vs buy: 42% leases in 2023 new sales
Sales and Market Share Interpretation
Canada's auto market spent 2023 schizophrenically straddling the gas pump and the charging station, as the nation's enduring love affair with expensive pickup trucks and SUVs was increasingly chaperoned by a surge in electric vehicles, government incentives, and rising prices that suggest we're happy to pay dearly for both our nostalgic horsepower and our green conscience.
Trade and Exports
- In 2023, Canada exported 1.45 million vehicles worth CAD 68 billion, primarily to the US
- US received 97% of Canadian vehicle exports in 2023, valued at CAD 66 billion
- Automotive parts exports: CAD 52 billion in 2023, to 100 countries
- Vehicle imports from US: 1.2 million units under CUSMA in 2023
- Mexico imports to Canada: 250,000 vehicles, 15% of total imports
- Trade surplus in vehicles: CAD 20 billion in 2023
- Engine exports: 1.8 million units to US in 2023
- EU vehicle imports: CAD 4.5 billion, mainly luxury brands
- Parts imports: CAD 65 billion, 55% from US
- CUSMA content rules: 75% North American for tariff-free trade in 2023
- Q1 2024 exports: 380,000 vehicles, up 8%
- Japan imports: 120,000 vehicles, mostly Toyota/Honda
- Battery exports started at CAD 1.2 billion in 2023
- Border crossings for auto trade: 5.2 million trucks in 2023
- Korea FTA imports: 80,000 vehicles under agreement
- Export growth to US: 10% YoY for EVs in 2023
- Total auto trade volume: CAD 220 billion with US in 2023
- Tariffs avoided: CAD 10 billion via CUSMA compliance
- China parts imports: CAD 2.8 billion, mostly electronics
- 2024 export forecast: 1.55 million vehicles, CAD 75 billion
- Windsor-Detroit tunnel: 30% of auto exports pass through
- Aluminum content exports up 15% to US aluminum tariffs response
Trade and Exports Interpretation
It is the art of a carefully choreographed, billion-dollar automotive ballet performed primarily for our American neighbors, with a supporting cast of global parts and a plot that hinges on the delicate rules of trade agreements.
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