Ontario banks on clean tech being the future of North America's auto industry
The Ontario Automotive Communities Alliance is heading to America to promote increased trade and investment in Canada’s largest province. Traverse City in Michigan is the site of the Centre For Automotive Research’s 46th annual CAR Management Seminar titled “Prosperity Amid Uncertainty,” which will feature addresses by CEOs of leading auto companies.
With Canada's auto assembly industry looking at $1 billion of profit for 2011—a massive leap from 2010's meagre $114 million—Ontario knows how crucial it is to make the right investments in the auto sector to maintain its thriving state.
“We’re here to make auto executives understand that what makes Ontario the number one place to build cars in North America is our tier one talent and relentless innovation backed by focused funding,” says Bill Elliot, Vice President of Business Development with Canada’s Technology Triangle in Waterloo Region, a member of the Ontario Automotive Communities Alliance.
Heavy investments are being pumped into the auto sector with the hopes of transforming Ontario in an international hub for green-tech research and the production of fuel-efficient vehicles. Two recent examples are the opening of the first phase of the University of Windsor’s $112 million dollar Centre for Engineering Innovation and the new $100 million dollar GM Automotive Centre of Excellence that features the world’s largest wind tunnel for automotive testing.
