Trump Tariffs Sideline New Vehicle For London-area Plant, For Now _ Analyst
Adedokun Waliyu
3 min read
A Korean automotive giant is looking for a foothold in the Canadian auto industry and Cami Assembly in Ingersoll just might be it.
Hyundai and General Motors have signed an agreement to share technology and manufacturing expertise and that may bring a new Hyundai van to the Southwestern Ontario plant, said Sam Fiorani, vice-president with AutoForecast Solutions, an industry analyst in the U.S.
Hyundai wants to make more vehicles in North America and GM needs to refresh its lineup of commercial vans and both automakers are partnering to make that happen, he said.
“GM is working with Hyundai on new vans, a commercial van for North America,” Fiorani said. “For Hyundai to be a player, they would have to develop their own platform, but it costs at least $2 billion for a new plant and to develop a vehicle. It makes more sense to partner with GM.”
The initial plan was for Hyundai to manufacture a commercial van at the Cami assembly plant within two to three years alongside the BrightDrop commercial van now made for GM Canada. Cami began life in 1989 as a joint venture between Suzuki and GM, making vehicles for both automakers.
“Hyundai has been working with the Detroit Three for a long time to get joint ventures going,” Fiorani said.
Mike Van Boekel, chairperson of Unifor Local 88, which represents Cami workers, said he had no knowledge of any Hyundai plan, but the union would welcome any additional work.
“We have capacity. We will take whatever vehicle we can. We would be happy to build anything, but we haven’t been told anything,” Van Boekel said.
The Hyundai van production would help GM phase out its Savana and Express lines that are more than 30 years old, and replace them with a more current lineup of commercial vans, said Fiorani.
However, plans for shared production at Cami have been shelved for now as the United States will charge tariffs as high as 25 per cent on vehicles and parts exported into the United States beginning Thursday.
But if a new trade deal between the U.S., Canada and Mexico emerges from the current trade war that new vehicle for Cami may be back on track.
“We were expecting something to happen and then everything changed,” Fiorani said. “But there’s still hope. I’m looking forward to seeing what they will do.”
The agreement, reported in automotive media, would see Hyundai assemble two electric commercial van models with GM. In return, GM may provide Hyundai with pickup trucks to sell under its own brand in North America.
“Hyundai needs trucks, and to sell rucks here you have to make them in North America,” Fiorani said.
Cami is a likely spot for van production as the Ingersoll plant now assembles two versions of the BrightDrop electric cargo van and sold just more than 1,500 vans in 2024, so it has capacity.
The broader deal between the two would include joint purchasing or development involving computing chips, next-generation batteries and battery materials, to name a few areas of interest.
“GM and Hyundai continue to explore potential areas of collaboration. We have nothing to announce at this time,” GM Canada officials wrote in a message to The Free Press Tuesday.
Hyundai is looking for a greater North American presence and a joint venture to reduce cost and grow production as automakers are concerned about the looming threat of competition from Chinese automakers, which are making competitive, low-cost vehicles.
“If you’re not worried about China, you’re not paying attention,” Fiorani said. “Chinese manufacturers are coming and they have the backing of their government to become an export hub. The vehicles they’re making compete globally.”
Although there is a lot of competition, the U.S. commercial van market is significant, and it is not surprising to see growing competition in the sector, said John Fanjoy, economist with Scotiabank and an auto industry analyst.
There were 242,000 medium-duty trucks sold in the U.S, in 2024 and 240,000 in 2023, while Canada drivers bought 17,000 last year and 15,500 in 2023.
“It’s a significant portion of the auto industry,” Fanjoy said. “Our view entering 2025 was, absent tariffs, the North American auto sector would see further growth. But with tariffs disrupting the North American markets and supply chains and prices, there’s a lot of uncertainty now going forward.”
