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5 things to know about Ford's electric investment from Ontario, feds – BNN

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The federal and Ontario governments announced on Thursday they will each spend $250 million to help Ford Canada mass produce electric vehicles in Oakville, Ont.

Here’s what you need to know:

1. Is this new money?

Ford first announced in September that it would spend $1.95 billion in its Canadian plants, including $1.8 billion toward the production of electric vehicles in Oakville, Ont. over the  next decade or so as part of a three-year deal with union workers announced last month.

At the time, news reports suggested that some of the cash would come from government. But until today neither the company, government nor workers’ unions officially broke down the number.

2. Why electric vehicles?

Canada has historically lagged other auto exporters when it comes to electric vehicles. In April, the International Council on Clean Transportation noted that Canada produces only one plug-in vehicle model, the Chrysler Pacifica, and that the country’s electric vehicle production is 80 per cent lower than the global average.

Amid competition from plants in the Southern U.S. and Mexico, Canada has been vying to stay competitive in getting new, cutting-edge contracts from the Detroit Three automakers.

3. Why Oakville?

The Ontario government is quick to point out that Ontario is the only place in North America where five major automakers build vehicles — Fiat Chrysler, Ford, General Motors, Honda and Toyota — as well as truck manufacturer Hino. As for selecting the Oakville plant, Unifor president Jerry Dias has said that recent union negotiations targeted Ford because the jobs in its Oakville plant were most precarious amid ending vehicle production contracts that, until now, had no replacement.

Ford also already has a connectivity and innovation centre in the Ottawa suburb of Kanata, which has a history as a Canadian innovation cradle.

Canadian companies also have supply chain access to mining companies that produce the nickel and other metals used to make the batteries for electric vehicles.

4. Political will

In addition to pressure from this year’s high-profile labour negotiations, lawmakers have also been looking for ways to promote economic investment in the wake of COVID-19 and an economic downturn. The Sept. 23 speech from the throne highlighted action against climate change as “a cornerstone” of a plan to create a million jobs across the country.

The government has already committed more than $300 million to create a network of fast-charging stations for electric vehicles across the country. And it is providing incentives of up to $5,000 off the price of purchasing or leasing electric and hybrid vehicles.

5. How Canada’s automakers stack up

Ford is not the only company competing to employ Canadian engineers, as automakers increasingly look toward cutting-edge technology to set themselves apart. Tesla is working with Dalhousie University to produce batteries, while General Motors tests autonomous and electric vehicles in Markham Ont., and is working on doing the same in Oshawa, Ont.

Canadian auto-parts manufacturers Magna International and Linamar have also made investments in  high-tech products, and BlackBerry Ltd. has an autonomous vehicle innovation centre in Ottawa.

In the startup scene, Canada Pension Plan Investment Board has invested in an autonomous driving startup, and Quebec City is home to autonomous driving startup LeddarTech.

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Investment

Tesla shares soar more than 14% as Trump win is seen boosting Elon Musk’s electric vehicle company

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NEW YORK (AP) — Shares of Tesla soared Wednesday as investors bet that the electric vehicle maker and its CEO Elon Musk will benefit from Donald Trump’s return to the White House.

Tesla stands to make significant gains under a Trump administration with the threat of diminished subsidies for alternative energy and electric vehicles doing the most harm to smaller competitors. Trump’s plans for extensive tariffs on Chinese imports make it less likely that Chinese EVs will be sold in bulk in the U.S. anytime soon.

“Tesla has the scale and scope that is unmatched,” said Wedbush analyst Dan Ives, in a note to investors. “This dynamic could give Musk and Tesla a clear competitive advantage in a non-EV subsidy environment, coupled by likely higher China tariffs that would continue to push away cheaper Chinese EV players.”

Tesla shares jumped 14.8% Wednesday while shares of rival electric vehicle makers tumbled. Nio, based in Shanghai, fell 5.3%. Shares of electric truck maker Rivian dropped 8.3% and Lucid Group fell 5.3%.

Tesla dominates sales of electric vehicles in the U.S, with 48.9% in market share through the middle of 2024, according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration.

Subsidies for clean energy are part of the Inflation Reduction Act, signed into law by President Joe Biden in 2022. It included tax credits for manufacturing, along with tax credits for consumers of electric vehicles.

Musk was one of Trump’s biggest donors, spending at least $119 million mobilizing Trump’s supporters to back the Republican nominee. He also pledged to give away $1 million a day to voters signing a petition for his political action committee.

In some ways, it has been a rocky year for Tesla, with sales and profit declining through the first half of the year. Profit did rise 17.3% in the third quarter.

The U.S. opened an investigation into the company’s “Full Self-Driving” system after reports of crashes in low-visibility conditions, including one that killed a pedestrian. The investigation covers roughly 2.4 million Teslas from the 2016 through 2024 model years.

And investors sent company shares tumbling last month after Tesla unveiled its long-awaited robotaxi at a Hollywood studio Thursday night, seeing not much progress at Tesla on autonomous vehicles while other companies have been making notable progress.

Tesla began selling the software, which is called “Full Self-Driving,” nine years ago. But there are doubts about its reliability.

The stock is now showing a 16.1% gain for the year after rising the past two days.

The Canadian Press. All rights reserved.

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S&P/TSX composite up more than 100 points, U.S. stock markets mixed

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TORONTO – Canada’s main stock index was up more than 100 points in late-morning trading, helped by strength in base metal and utility stocks, while U.S. stock markets were mixed.

The S&P/TSX composite index was up 103.40 points at 24,542.48.

In New York, the Dow Jones industrial average was up 192.31 points at 42,932.73. The S&P 500 index was up 7.14 points at 5,822.40, while the Nasdaq composite was down 9.03 points at 18,306.56.

The Canadian dollar traded for 72.61 cents US compared with 72.44 cents US on Tuesday.

The November crude oil contract was down 71 cents at US$69.87 per barrel and the November natural gas contract was down eight cents at US$2.42 per mmBTU.

The December gold contract was up US$7.20 at US$2,686.10 an ounce and the December copper contract was up a penny at US$4.35 a pound.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Oct. 16, 2024.

Companies in this story: (TSX:GSPTSE, TSX:CADUSD)

The Canadian Press. All rights reserved.

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S&P/TSX up more than 200 points, U.S. markets also higher

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TORONTO – Canada’s main stock index was up more than 200 points in late-morning trading, while U.S. stock markets were also headed higher.

The S&P/TSX composite index was up 205.86 points at 24,508.12.

In New York, the Dow Jones industrial average was up 336.62 points at 42,790.74. The S&P 500 index was up 34.19 points at 5,814.24, while the Nasdaq composite was up 60.27 points at 18.342.32.

The Canadian dollar traded for 72.61 cents US compared with 72.71 cents US on Thursday.

The November crude oil contract was down 15 cents at US$75.70 per barrel and the November natural gas contract was down two cents at US$2.65 per mmBTU.

The December gold contract was down US$29.60 at US$2,668.90 an ounce and the December copper contract was up four cents at US$4.47 a pound.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Oct. 11, 2024.

Companies in this story: (TSX:GSPTSE, TSX:CADUSD)

The Canadian Press. All rights reserved.

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