Don Romano, President of Hyundai Canada was the final speaker at Canadian Black Book’s Talk Auto conference held yesterday. Romano delivered his take on the future of the auto industry. After his talk, Romano sat down with automotive journalist Petrine Gentile for a wide-ranging fireside chat.
After their chat Christopher Nabeta, Director OEM Sales and Strategy Canada at TD Auto Finance, and Executive Chairman Accelerate Auto and a longtime mentee of Romano, took to the stage to present a glowing tribute highlighting Romano’s accomplishments including his lasting impact on growing his company, investing in building a winning team, and helping promote industry-wide issues — like the need for more women and more diversity in the auto industry.
Nabeta said Hyundai has consistently been recognized as one of the leaders in corporate culture, and Romano was a true industry builder. After receiving the award, Romano was clearly taken aback by the honour, saying it was one of the most important awards he’d received.
In his earlier remarks, Romano offered a challenging but optimistic view about the changes and challenges Canada’s auto industry will face in the near future. “It’s crazy,” said Romano. “Everything is changing all at once.”
“It’s not just about the Chinese coming to every market,” he said. “They are up for disruption and it’s going to happen. Everything is changing. It’s a matter of if, not when.”
He said China is already the number one supplier of vehicles in Mexico, and the world’s number one exporter of vehicles. The vertical integration they’ve built into their economy and vehicle manufacturing sector is what enables them to make high quality $15,000 vehicles.
“It’s called disruption. You either adjust or you will no longer be in business,” said Romano. “Are we going to compete on price? No, we don’t have that vertical integration.”
“It’s not just about the lower pricing and the economic challenges,” said Romano, adding that the North American industry needs to invest in technology — and in particular, electric vehicles.
Romano said demand is growing for electric vehicles and we can expect to see the momentum continue, particularly as prices come down, and new technologies like autonomous systems and improved connected vehicle technologies emerge. “EVs are going to be our future and the sooner we get into EVs, the better.”
But Romano cautioned that most industries aren’t ready for — or equipped — to change. Many OEMs have “immortality syndrome” where they think they are too big to fail. “But we are all mortal.”
He also predicted a big change in the value the industry will deliver to consumers. “We are going to change from a product industry to a service industry, mark my words,” said Romano. He said to thrive during disruption, businesses need to:
- Invest in technology;
- Invest in customer service;
- Invest in relationships with communities;
- Leverage understanding of local customs and passions; and
- Deepen culture of employee support, diversity and inclusion.
During their fireside chat, automotive journalist Petrina Gentile asked for Romano’s views on things like the recent U.S. Presidential election, and the expected federal election coming in Canada. He steered clear of any controversial remarks, and characterized the political changes as challenging.
Romano was bullish about future vehicle sales in Canada, predicting the industry will hit 1.8 million vehicles in 2024, and 1.9 million next year. “I think we are going to grow at a reasonable pace,” said Romano. But when inventories grow, he cautioned that the industry often does “stupid things”. “Sometimes we are our own worst enemies and we forget about the value we provide and just try to move the metal.”
He predicted that sometime in the next three to four years the industry will sell more than 2 million vehicles. “Our economy and our industry are still solid,” he said.
Romano said we have crossed the “ICE only” bridge, but the future will be more of a blend of technologies including BEVs, hydrogen and hybrids. “That’s the future.” But the big shift won’t occur on the timeline the government mandates — it will be driven by the market, and the OEMs will adjust accordingly.
Romano said governments tell OEMs they need to build EVs, but they don’t mandate other institutions or industries to install vehicle chargers. “It’s all about charging infrastructure,” he said. “We need chargers everywhere. It’s going to take a village.”
When asked about what he would want his legacy to be, Romano said it was about the lasting change in his company and his industry, supporting initiatives like Empowering Auto and Accelerate Auto that are leading to more opportunities for women and people of colour in the industry. “We did more than change our company. We had a positive impact on the industry.”
“The time for change is now,” said Romano, urging more businesses to invest in diversity. “We are one of these industries that’s very slow to adapt. I’m proud of what our team has done.”
