CANADIAN CAR PRODUCTION Gerald T. Bloomfield April 2009
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CANADIAN CAR PRODUCTION Gerald T. Bloomfield April 2009 Official collection of statistics on Canadian motor vehicles began in 1917 and cars were separately distinguished in the following year. Table 1.1 shows the general trends over the next 90 years. The rapid growth of output in the 1920s was not only to supply the Canadian demand but also for the export trade, especially to British Empire countries, such as Australia, New Zealand, India, Malaya and South Africa. Exports were significant until the late 1940s when currency restrictions tended to favour British manufacturers. Lost export markets and an increasing volume of European imports limited expansion of Canadian production in the late 1950s. The Bladen Royal Commission Report published in 1961 recommended new directions for the industry. These were implemented in the Automotive Trade Agreement in 1965. The Auto Pact integrated the Canadian and US auto industries and substantial new investment in assembly capacity and parts manufacturing followed. Production increased from 560,000 units in 1965 to just over one million four years later. By focusing the production efforts on a very limited range of models, the Canadian assembly plants were able to achieve improved economies of scale. Some general trends in the export of cars built in Canada are highlighted in Table 1.2. The decline of the traditional export orientation after 1947 is very clear, as the exported proportion of total car production dropped from 24.8 per cent in 1947 to 2.7 per cent in 1962. The reorientation of exports to the United States following the tariff changes of the mid-1960s is reflected in the huge increase in the volume of car exports. A temporary increase in exports to the rest of the world was mainly the result of shipments to Venezuela and some other Latin American markets in the 1970s. Volume production of cars in Canada was pioneered by the Ford Motor Company of Canada Ltd founded in 1904 to assemble Detroit-made parts in a converted wagon works across the river in Walkerville. In 1907, 327 cars were made there. Once the Model T was introduced, output began to rise, to 1,280 units in 1910, and 15,657 in 1914. With a new, purpose-built factory, local suppliers and a booming demand, output reached 50,043 in 1917. The McLaughlin Carriage works in Oshawa began building cars in 1908 using Buick mechanical components. Designed for a different market and price range to the Model T, McLaughlin output was more modest, rising from 154 in 1908 to 3,408 in 1917. Chevrolet assembly began at Oshawa in 1915 and production reached 13,843 units in 1917. The McLaughlin company was sold to General Motors at the end of 1918. Chrysler, the other member of the so-called Big Three US auto makers, began in 1924. The small Windsor assembly plants of Chambers and Maxwell were merged and the Dodge operation in Toronto was acquired in 1928. A new assembly and manufacturing plant was opened in the following year. The Big Three corporations dominated Canadian car production until the 1990s. While several other US companies such as Studebaker, Hudson and Nash had branch operations in Canada, their output was always small. American Motors Corporation, founded in 1954, merged the assembly operations of Hudson (Tilbury, Ontario), and Nash (Toronto) and opened a new assembly plant in Brampton in late 1960. A large car assembly complex in Bramalea, Brampton was opened in 1985 as part of Renault’s expansion of AMC. When the expected returns from its growth strategy failed, Renault sold AMC to Chrysler in August 1987. The changing nature and location of car production are illustrated by a series of cross-sections from 1947 to 2007. Table 1.3 (1947) shows the industry totally dominated by the Big Three corporations in their original locations. Smaller- volume US manufacturers had not yet re-established their assembly operations after the Second World War. Table 1.4 (1957) notes the Ford relocation from Windsor to Oakville (1953). General Motors had also built a new plant complex in South Oshawa as part of its postwar modernization. American Motors in Toronto and Studebaker in Hamilton were both using factories converted from other uses. Table 1.5 (1967) shows the appearance of two small-scale operations of European corporations. Volvo in Halifax began in 1963 and Renault/SOMA (a Quebec investment organization) opened two years later. Studebaker had closed in Hamilton during 1966. Table 1.6 (1977) illustrates new investment and new locations following the Auto Pact of 1965. Ford opened the St Thomas plant at the end of 1967 and GM’s Ste Thérèse operation had been completed about the same time. Renault/SOMA closed in 1973. Table 1.7 (1987) includes new locations at Bramalea/Brampton and at Alliston, where Honda had just completed the first stage of its new plant. The Chrysler plant in Windsor had been converted to minivan production in 1982/83. Table 1.8 (1997) notes a contraction in the number of car models built by Ford and GM, compared with earlier cross-sections. Ford’s Oakville plant had been converted to Windstar mini-van production and the St Thomas plant was wholly focused on building large cars. Two new “transplants” completed in the late 1980s appear in the table. Toyota’s Cambridge plant was producing Corolla cars, and CAMI (A GM-Suzuki joint venture) in Ingersoll was also building small cars. Hyundai, a new entrant in the world industry in the 1980s, had a short-lived assembly plant at Bromont, Quebec. About 100,000 cars were built there between January 1989 and October 1993. Table 1.9 (2007) shows a significant reduction in the number of plants. Volvo closed in 1998, being too small for viability. Ste Thérèse was shut down in 2002, and CAMI shifted to production of SUVs in 2001 Table 1:10 provides a summary of production trends in selected years. Until the late 1990s, the Big Three US corporations dominated car production in Canada. By 2007 their former dominance had been substantially reduced to 64.7 per cent of total output, compared with 96.9 per cent 20 years earlier. Honda and Toyota had both achieved strong positions, reflecting their prominence in the Canadian car market. By this time, the Honda Civic and Toyota Corolla/Matrix were the most “Canadian” cars. Table 1.1 Canada: Passenger Car Production (thousands) 1918 75.0 1948 166.8 1978 1,107.8 1919 79.9 1949 193.5 1979 960.6 1920 83.9 1950 284.0 1980 820.1 1921 61.1 1951 282.7 1981 796.3 1922 92.8 1952 283.5 1982 807.6 1923 127.9 1953 360.4 1983 970.9 1924 114.3 1954 287.2 1984 1,180.0 1925 135.5 1955 375.0 1985 1,077.9 1926 166.9 1956 374.3 1986 1,061.3 1927 146.4 1957 340.0 1987 809.8 1928 197.8 1958 298.3 1988 1,025.0 1929 203.3 1959 301.8 1989 1,048.7 1930 121.3 1960 325.7 1990 1,076.9 1931 65.1 1961 329.9 1991 1,039.6 1932 50.7 1962 428.7 1992 1,027.9 1933 53.8 1963 534.1 1993 1,352.8 1934 92.6 1964 560.6 1994 1,215.8 1935 135.5 1965 710.7 1995 1,336.7 1936 128.3 1966 701.5 1996 1,279.7 1937 153.0 1967 720.8 1997 1,372.6 1938 123.7 1968 900.9 1998 1,481.1 1939 108.3 1969 1,035.5 1999 1,626.3 1940 109.9 1970 940.4 2000 1,550.5 1941 96.3 1971 1,096.0 2001 1,274.8 1942 12.2 1972 1,154.5 2002 1,369.0 1943 … 1973 1,216.5 2003 1,340.1 1944 … 1974 1,171.7 2004 1,400.1 1945 1.8 1975 1,027.2 2005 1,406.7 1946 91.8 1976 1,119.0 2006 1,427.6 1947 167.2 1977 1,120.1 2007 1,342.1 Sources: Compiled and calculated from: Dominion Bureau of Statistics, Motor Vehicle Manufacturers’ Association (US),Ward’s Automotive Yearbook. Table 1.2 Canada: Car Exports Total USA Rest of World Percent total car production 1947 41,550 31 41,519 24.8 1952 41,666 27 41,639 14.7 1957 16,244 39 16,205 4.8 1962 11,874 150 11,724 2.7 1967 342,504 310,974 31,530 48.3 1977 918,441 834,747 83,694 82.0 1987 956,151 951,608 4,543 Source: Compiled and calculated from Motor Industry of Great Britain. Car Exports to the United States, 1962-1969 1962 150 1963 319 1964 10,950 1965 31,692 Auto Pact in operation September 1965 1966 146,794 1967 310,974 1968 472,508 1969 676,137 Sources: Compiled and calculated from Motor Vehicle Manufacturers’ Association, World Motor Vehicle Data. Table 1.3 Canada: Passenger Car Production by Make 1947 Chrysler (Windsor) Chrysler 4,985 Desoto ..2,627 Dodge 18,609 Plymouth 17,287 Total 43,508 Ford (Windsor) Ford 36,614 Mercury 9,732 Meteor 10,303 Monarch 6,670 Total 63,409 GM (Oshawa) Chevrolet 41,306 Oldsmobile 5,694 Pontiac 11,848 Total 58,848 TOTAL 165,715 Source: Compiled from Canadian Automobile Chamber of Commerce, Facts and Figures Table 1.4 Canada: Passenger Car Production by Make 1957 American Motors (Toronto) Rambler 1,792 Chrysler (Windsor) Chrysler 4,230 Desoto 553 Dodge 34,318 Plymouth 30,320 Total 69,421 Ford (Oakville) Edsel 3,537 Ford 59,546 Mercury 9,870 Meteor 29,379 Monarch 7,557 Total 109,889 GM (Oshawa) Buick 14,870 Chevrolet 76,353 Oldsmobile 14,054 Pontiac 48,140 Total 153,417 Studebaker-Packard (Hamilton) Studebaker 5,468 TOTAL 339,987 Source: Compiled from Canadian Automobile Chamber of Commerce, Facts and Figures.