Greg Layson

Stellantis CEO Carlos Tavares said the automaker is considering Canada as home to one of two battery plants the company plans to build in North America.

The venture will supply General Motors and Jaguar Land Rover, with an eye to land more automakers as customers. 

The ongoing COVID-19 pandemic and “continued safety measures to stem the spread of the virus,” led Canadian auto show organizers to move the show online from the floor of the Toronto Convention Centre. A virtual edition of the Montreal exhibition will be free of charge.

The supplier also announced that it will acquire a majority stake in its existing seating joint venture with HLZX. The two companies currently operate a 50/50 venture formed in 2015.

The supplier finished an industry-leading first in three of seven categories — and second in a fourth — in the J.D. Power 2020 U.S. Seat Quality and Satisfaction Study.

Even with the buyouts, FCA might still have to eliminate about 1,000 jobs at the minivan factory in Windsor, according to a union, as the automaker prepares to cut a shift of production there.

Magna said the stronger U.S. dollar, the sale of its fluid pressure and controls business and lower expected light vehicle production in Europe will impact revenue this year.

The supplier is developing new camera technology but it’s expensive, the images are not as clear as with glass and governments are not yet on board.

Polestar's new store in Montreal is set to open in 2020 in a province that saw its EV sales increase 93 percent in the second quarter.

FCA in March said it would end the third shift at the Windsor plant on Sept. 30 amid sluggish North American sales for the Chrysler Pacifica and Dodge Grand Caravan minivans it builds. The automaker has now extended the shift's life two times since that announcement.

Magna Steyr has opened a new paint plant in Slovenia to complement its contract vehicle production at a plant in Graz, Austria, which builds cars for Mercedes, BMW, Toyota and Jaguar.