It's not the right time to shut down a government-funded automotive innovation centre, according to its CEO. "Because of the new fuel economy regulations and the competitive pressures of other countries, it's vital that our auto industry -- every single company in it that works in Canada -- it's vital that they be more innovative, more efficient ," says head of Auto 21 Peter Frise. Auto 21 opened in 2001 and has known its federal funding would dry up in about 14 years. The other half is financed by auto companies, but without government support Frise says they'll take their money to other countries. "If they can turn one dollar into two or three dollars worth of work, then they'll do it here," he says. "But if they can't leverage their funds, then they'll do it somewhere where they can. "Other countries have programs like Auto 21, in fact several of them are modeled on Auto 21." Frise has been fighting to keep it open, speaking with federal and provincial officials. He says innovation is vitally important because Canada isn't a low-cost country and can't compete on price. "We have to compete on innovation and new products and more effective manufacturing and quality," he says. "To shut down the national automotive innovation program at this time, in my view, is too bad." Auto 21 has done about $150-million worth of research and innovation over the last 14 years. In addition they've helped train more than 2,000 people with PHDs in the automotive sector. The centre, located on the University of Windsor campus, is set to close March 31.
Auto 21 at the University of Windsor. (Photo by Adelle Loiselle)
