TORONTO — Canada’s assembly plants earned plenty of accolades last year, but that’s unlikely to translate into largescale investment.
“Does the quality of the workplace matter? Sure, but it’s one of a dozen factors, if not dozens,” said Dennis DesRosiers, president of DesRosiers Automotive Consultants. “I’ll tell you, the cost of electricity is a hell of a lot more important than these ratings.”
To be sure, J.D. Power’s 2019 Initial Quality Survey (IQS) and Plant Assembly Line Quality Awards and Consumer Reports’ Auto Reliability Survey were kind to many of Canada’s plants and the vehicles they produce.
Toyota’s Cambridge North assembly plant was given a platinum award for assembly-line quality, the highest possible rank, for having 17 problems per 100 vehicles produced there. The adjacent Cambridge South plant won a bronze award for having 21 problems per 100.
Vehicles assembled in Canada also achieved high marks: The Dodge Challenger, built in…