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Funding for Innovation in the Automotive Sector Announced
GLOBE-Net, August 31, 2016 – The Federal Government has announced nearly $3 Million in funding for innovation in Canada’s automotive industry.
The Minister of Innovation, Science and Economic Development, Navdeep Bains, made the announcement this morning on the heels of news that Canada’s automotive industry had sold 1.9 million new cars, light trucks and SUVs in 2015, an all time record.
2016 marks the third consecutive year Canada has set a new record in car sales, up from 1.85 million in 2014 and 1.74 million in 2013.
“These projects illustrate how Canada’s automotive suppliers are at the forefront of designing and building the super-efficient cars of the future—cars that are more energy-efficient and better for the environment,” said the Minister.
“The made-in-Canada innovations that come from these companies strengthen the skills, knowledge and business expertise that create well-paying jobs for Canadians. These innovations make our country’s automotive sector a global success,” he added.
Sadly only 6,933 sales were of plug-in Electric Vehicles, according to FleetCarma, marking a mere 0.0036 percent. While this represents a growth in EV sales of 32 percent over 2014, is it lower than the 67 percent annual growth of the previous two years, proving there is still a great deal of pavement left on the road to a low carbon future.
The funds announced today will go to four Ontario-based companies, as part of the Automotive Supplier Innovation Program. The program, which runs until 2020-2021, will provide $100 million in funding for innovation in the auto sector. Program and application information can be found at the link above.
The companies receiving the funds and the technologies they are developing include:
- Bluewrist Inc., of Markham – Quality control scanner that is 5x times faster than current systems
- Smarter Alloys Inc., of Waterloo – Advanced alloys that can retake their shape, to replace bulky current mechanisms
- P. Plasman, of Windsor – 3D Printed measurement tools to replace steel machined fixed ones
- Invotek Electronics, of Markham – A more compact radar system, to improve safety
The automotive industry directly employed 125,400 workers in 2015, up from 120,000 the year before. Indirect jobs from the industry are estimated to be 398,700 in 2015, up from 362,000 in 2014.
This is a testament to the job multiplying ability of the automotive sector, which stands as the best among all sectors, where one direct job leads to six additional jobs in the automotive supply chain.
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