DELEGATES FROM THE CHINA AUTOMOBILE DEALERS ASSOCIATION (CADA) TRAVELLED TO CANADA TO LEARN MORE ABOUT THEIR CANADIAN COUNTERPARTS — THE CANADIAN AUTOMOBILE DEALERS ASSOCIATION (CADA)
Delegates from the China Automobile Dealers Association met with the Canadian Automobile Dealers Association at the Canadian CADA’s headquarters in Markham, Ont.
China has a huge automotive industry, but it’s still in early stages of development. So is the China Automobile Dealers Association (CADA), which represents the country’s nearly 23,000 auto dealers.
To learn more about the Canadian automotive retail market, delegates from the CADA in China travelled across the globe to meet with members of the Canadian Automobile Dealers Association.
This included Government Relations Director Huw Williams, Chief Economist Michael Hatch, Industry Relations Director and General Counsel Tim Ryan, as well as Industry Relations Officer Bonnie Wasser, who set up the meeting.
Two directors from the Bureau of Price Supervision and Anti-Monopoly National Development and Reform Commission from the People’s Republic of China also attended the meeting.
“They wanted to come and see what some of the best practices are from an association that is well-established and has been around as long as CADA Canada has — for 75 years,” said Rick Gauthier, CADA’s President and CEO, who also attended the meeting.
The meeting was held the morning of Nov. 11, 2015 at the Canadian CADA’s headquarters in Markham, Ont.
The Chinese delegates received a detailed overview of all of the Canadian CADA activities, and how the association works as a federated structure. That’s unlike the structure of the CADA in China, in which dealers are direct members of the association.
The Canadian association leaders also explained how its programs work, including employee benefits, insurance and incentive programs for dealers.
“[The delegates] expected to see strictly an advocacy organization and they discovered that we have tentacles in a multitude of areas that makes CADA an all service organization for Canadian dealers,” said Gauthier.
The delegates were also interested in learning about Canadian legislation, like its Competition laws, and getting a detailed overview of the state of the Canadian auto industry and economy.
“The Canadian market is very advanced so there is more for us to learn that we can bring back to our Chinese consumers,” said Diao Jianshen, Vice-Chairman of the CADA in China. “We are hoping to form a closer relationship with CADA Canada in the future,” Diao added.
It was also a learning experience for Gauthier, who said the Chinese economy hasn’t yet reached its peak.
“This is a continuation of our foray into the establishment of international relations,” said Gauthier.
