Korean brands sold 249,028 vehicles in Canada last year, capturing about 13% market share.
Ontario signals incentives for Hyundai Motor Group to establish Canadian vehicle assembly operations.
Labour groups support linking government spending and procurement with domestic auto manufacturing investment.
Ontario’s government says it is prepared to heavily support Korean automakers if they choose to establish vehicle assembly operations in the province.
Premier Doug Ford said the province would “roll out the red carpet” for companies such as Hyundai Motor Group, which currently sells a large volume of vehicles in Canada without local production.
Ford made the comments during a public question-and-answer session at the opening of the NextStar Energy electric-vehicle and energy-storage battery facility in Windsor, Ont., where South Korean Trade Minister Jung-Kwan Kim attended the event.
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Korean brands Hyundai, Kia and Genesis collectively sold 249,028 vehicles in Canada last year, accounting for roughly 13% of the national market. Ford argued that strong sales should eventually translate into domestic production.
“Anyone who sells 230,000 cars needs to open up a plant here,” he said, adding that the province is prepared to work with companies willing to invest in Ontario manufacturing.
Ontario has already committed significant funding to attract automotive projects. The province pledged up to $5 billion toward the NextStar Energy battery plant in Windsor and added roughly $500 million, along with infrastructure spending, to support the PowerCo battery facility under construction in St. Thomas.
Despite its market presence, Hyundai Motor Group currently has no Canadian vehicle assembly operations. Vehicles for the North American market are produced at three plants in the United States and one in Mexico. Canada ranks as the company’s fifth-largest global market.
Hyundai Canada CEO Steve Flamand recently addressed speculation about Canadian manufacturing during the Automotive News Canada Congress in Toronto. He noted that governments often encourage manufacturers to consider local investment, particularly when the automotive sector plays a central role in the regional economy. He said automakers continuously review their production footprint and evaluate capacity requirements and strategic considerations.
Federal Industry Minister Melanie Joly is also pursuing Korean industrial investment through a separate channel. Ottawa previously shortlisted South Korea’s Hanwha Ocean and Germany’s ThyssenKrupp Marine Systems to build up to 12 submarines for the Royal Canadian Navy.
Although earlier reports suggested the bids did not include auto investment commitments, Joly reiterated the government’s interest in attracting a vehicle assembly plant.
Labour leaders support the approach. Unifor president Lana Payne said governments should use major public expenditures, including defence procurement, strategically to encourage domestic manufacturing.
However, she acknowledged that attracting new assembly plants may be challenging due to global production capacity levels and the industry’s reliance on exports to the United States. Vehicles and parts that do not meet United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement requirements currently face a 25% U.S. tariff.
“There’s been a lot of talk in the press lately,” Flamand said. “We’ll see where it goes.”
Source: Automotive News
