Rick Gauthier, President and CEO of the Canadian Automobile Dealers Association, hosts the OEM panelists for a planning session for the 3rd annual CADA Summit held Feb. 11, 2015 in Toronto.
The meeting was led by moderator Niel Hiscox, publisher of Canadian auto dealer, and held at the magazine’s offices in Markham, Ont.
Panelists, including Larry Hutchinson, vice-president of sales at Toyota, Donald Romano, President and CEO at Hyundai Auto Canada and Lindsay Duffield, President of Jaguar Land Rover Canada, tackled a range of issues affecting auto dealers, and mapped out a path for their discussions at the upcoming CADA Summit to be held Feb. 11, 2015, at the Hyatt Regency Toronto.
While we can expect some lively debate on just what the future entails, the OEM panelists agree that the CADA Summit provides the perfect open forum to discuss the issues facing the automotive industry.
With all of the changes happening in the auto world, some of which Duffield says are revolutionary, he believes it’s important all industry retailers and partners come together so they can meet the ever increasing needs and demands of consumers.
“Our job is to work with our retailers to help them prepare and support them and take on all of these additional challenges,” said Duffield.
Hutchinson, who has attended both of the prior CADA summits as an observer, acknowledges that participating in the panel is a good opportunity to interact with dealers and other OEMs.
“There’s lots of issues out there and we all need to deal with them. If we deal with them together we will all be better off,” said Hutchinson, adding that the Summit tackles issues that will affect the industry not just this year but also in those to come.
That’s why Romana says he is happy to participate.
“I think the Canadian Automobile Dealers Association is exactly the type of organization we need to address these challenges. Without it, I think we would be at a significant disadvantage versus other countries that have this type of collaborative organization holistically,” he said.
For more information visit: www.cadasummit.ca
