President’s Message

News From the Front Seat

BLAIR QUALEY PRESIDENT & CEO, NCDA

Hope for a New and Better Year

The relief we feel seeing the annus horribilis that was 2020 disappear in the rearview mirror likely cannot be captured in a few short words here. As we begin our journey down the road to a brave new year, with vaccines being distributed around the world and the prospect of relief from this awful pandemic, we can look to 2021 with immense hope.

We remain so grateful to healthcare workers, first responders, grocery store workers and all the dedicated essential workers and front-line providers of essential goods who have kept the wheels of our communities turning and who will continue to make personal sacrifices for the rest of us in the coming months.

It is also important to extend appreciation to the staff in our nearly 400 member dealerships who came to work during the pandemic, through much uncertainty and fear, to help our members serve their customers with vehicle repairs or purchases. And to all the dealer principals, our gratitude for your diligent efforts to ensure your employees and customers were kept safe in your dealerships throughout this unprecedented health crisis.

It is not lost on me that we still have a long way to go until we get back to some form of normalcy in our lives. However, I remain hopeful that we will all get through the coming months and arrive at a day when families and friends can hug one another and share the special moments in their lives without the fear of contracting or passing on the COVID-19 virus.

There is no doubt 2020 was one of the toughest in the history of our association. Especially difficult was the devastating impact that resulted from having to postpone the 100th anniversary edition of the Vancouver International Auto Show just two weeks out. But despite this heavy hit, our NCDA staff team, with the incredible support and guidance from our Board of Directors, reduced expenses and rightsized the organization to make sure we were able to continue the important work for our dealer members. This included providing a comprehensive, daily email summary of the latest information from health officials, government and professional experts, along with a COVID-19 protocol toolkit.

Joined by various legal and other professionals, including WorkSafeBC and CADA 360 HR Automation by DealerPilot, we provided webinars with the latest and best guidance for our members. These efforts were supported by our key sponsors and associate members, who have continued to be there for our dealer members.

We also continued our important work with government, both the federal government—through the strong efforts of our national association, the CADA—and the provincial government here in BC. We followed the provincial election in the fall and have reached out to the newly elected MLAs and those in cabinet to extend our congratulations and offer our assistance as BC looks toward economic recovery efforts in 2021. To that end, we continue to encourage government to reduce regulations and taxes that put the brakes on economic growth across the province and place its focus instead on policies that will accelerate BC’s economy.

As we entered December, the federal government released its climate action plan, A Healthy Environment and a Healthy Economy. The NCDA has an established working relationship with the province towards creating a greener future, and we are encouraged to see these efforts taking place at the federal level.

The NCDA, as well as its members across the province, are committed to the fight against climate change. More and more auto manufacturers are investing in bringing electric vehicles to market, as well as those featuring new high-efficiency gas engines with lower carbon emissions. At the dealership level, our members continue educating consumers on the longterm benefits of such purchases. We feel a duty to do our part to lower carbon emissions, and the vehicles that we sell are a huge part of that solution.

Encouraging more consumers to purchase zero emission vehicles (ZEVs) requires a multi-pronged effort that goes well beyond those at the sales level alone. It requires financial incentives, increased investments in charging stations to alleviate range anxiety, and educational tools for consumers. The NCDA was happy to see the federal government’s commitment to the cause in the past year.

BC has taken a leadership role when it comes to the sale of ZEVs—and the record is certainly, in part, due to the government’s commitment through which we administer the successful CleanBC Go Electric Vehicle Rebate Program. The province has also demonstrated a commitment to incentives for those looking to install chargers in their homes and workplaces, another key to consumer-purchase decisions.

We are committed to our strong partnership with the BC government to continue our nation-leading adoption of zero emission vehicles.

As we ended 2020, our board approved a break-even budget that ensures the NCDA can continue its important work for dealer members. The new budget includes a modest increase in member dues, necessitated by the uncertain future of the auto show in 2021. We are most grateful to the board and leadership of our national association, CADA, for providing a significant dues-holiday to the provincial associations in 2021. This has allowed the NCDA to continue its important work for members, without a significant increase in membership dues. I look forward to speaking with any of our members who have any questions around the dues increase and any other issues related to the work of the association.

In the closing months of 2020, a great deal of discussion and work took place by the auto show organizing committees across Canada to explore possible virtual options that would provide auto show fans the opportunity to see the latest offerings from the world’s leading vehicle manufacturers. Although we were unable to achieve sufficient support for those options, the NCDA continues to explore other opportunities, both with media and in-person when health officials will allow, to showcase the newest vehicles and technology available through BC’s new car dealers. We are grateful to our vehicle manufacturer, sponsor and other exhibit partners for their continued interest in providing a showcase event of some kind in 2021!

As I wrap up this opening message for first 2021 issue of Signals, I encourage our dealer members to join us for one of our chairman’s tour sessions, taking place in a virtual, town-hall-style format. It is an opportunity to learn about the latest work of the NCDA, but more importantly, for you to ask questions and share your suggestions to our team on the ongoing work of the association.

Please enjoy this issue of Signals and remember to encourage your team members (and aspiring young people you may know, seeking careers at BC’s new car dealers) to apply for our foundation’s 2021 CarCareersBC Grants (deadline is April 15). And to our associate members, we are accepting nominations for our Community Driver Awards, which recognize the outstanding community involvement and achievement of new car dealers throughout British Columbia. The Community Driver Awards are awarded on an annual basis to new car dealers who have shown tremendous community engagement over the past year in each of the six BC regions.

Thank you to all of our dealer and associate members for your support. And to all of our friends of the auto sector in BC, we wish you good health, happiness and prosperity in this new year.

Be kind, be calm, be safe.

Sincerely,

Blair Qualey, President and CEO New Car Dealers Association of BC bqualey@newcardealers.ca