Ontario auto plants among best
J.D. Power vehicle quality survey results boost workers
Southwestern Ontario’s auto industry can take a bow.
Toyota’s two Cambridge assembly plants have nailed the top two spots in a prestigious vehicle quality survey of the North American industry, with General Motors’ Cami plant in Ingersoll ranked fifth.
Together with Ford, whose Oakville plant placed fourth, Ontario owns four of the top five positions in the latest survey by J.D. Power and Associates of the quality of vehicles built on this continent.
Only a GM plant in Mexico that builds the Cadillac SRX, which finished third, kept Ontario from a Top Five sweep.
In a province where jobs have been lost to plant shutdowns, that’s a bitter pill for some to swallow.
“It’s crazy to think about all these production workers in Ontario out of a job when we are the best workers in the world,” said Lee Sperduti, a Toyota employee.
“It is unreal to me — these accolades are for the workers. We know if we don’t build a quality car, we don’t have a job,” he said.
Toyota’s newest plant, in Woodstock, finished eighth, said Renee Stephens, J.D. Power’s U.S. vice-president for auto quality.
“Consistently, over the years we have seen Canadian plants globally really hold the reins,” she said.
Globally, Canada — that means Ontario, which produces most of the country’s vehicles — finished second to South Africa as the world’s top country in vehicle quality manufacturing.
“The plants there are very good, they are very steady,” she said of Canada.
The survey questions new vehicle owners on defects per vehicle.
While the industry average is 39 defects reported for every 100 vehicles, Toyota’s north assembly plant in Cambridge that makes the Corolla reported only 17 defects for every 100 vehicles.
At Toyota’s south plant in Cambridge, which builds the Lexus RX crossover vehicle, the defect rate was only slightly higher, at 19.
The Toyota plants have won 14 J.D. Power awards since 1988.
The world’s top-ranked plant for quality, a BMW factory in South Africa, had a reported defect rate of 15 for every 100 vehicles, meaning the Cambridge operation was only slightly behind the world’s top spot.
But as much as the industry touts the awards, it means little if a plant shutdown is coming, said Dennis DesRosiers, a national automotive analyst. “Whether it is significant or not, many plants in Canada have won J.D. Power awards and have subsequently been closed,” he said. “It is an important award to win, but it does not guarantee survival.”
Ford’s St. Thomas plant and one of GM’s Oshawa plants won quality honours, but were still shuttered.
“There is a sense of pride in winning, it is better to win than not to, and it gives you bragging rights but no job security,” DesRosiers said.
A “complex algorithm” determines the winner, but “workers are critical” since production systems at the plants are similar, he added.
The Cami plant, which makes Equinox and Terrain crossover vehicles, had a reported 25 defects for every 100 vehicles and Toyota’s Woodstock operation, which makes the RAV4, had 27 defects.
“This is very good for the plant. It is great and it means we are doing something right, that’s for sure,” said Mike Van Boekel, chairperson of Unifor Local 88, at Cami.
“We have a great workforce and a great vehicle.”
The Cami plant also took top honours in a Harbour Report that measures productivity, said Van Boekel.
GM Canada and Harbour declined to confirm or comment on that, saying it’s a private report.
“We are a very efficient plant,” added Van Boekel.
Toyota announced this year its Corolla production in Ontario move to Mexico in 2019, replaced by a mid-sized vehicle that it hasn’t yet identified.