Canada's Adoption of Kyoto Protocol May Force GM Canada to Drop Some Models
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| GM Canada president Michael Grimaldi. (Photo: GM Canada) |
Suggesting that his company may have to discontinue certain models due to the federal government's decision to ratify its alliance with the Kyoto Accord, GM of Canada president Michael Grimaldi was candid.
The Calgary Herald reported Grimaldi stating, there is "a lot of risk" in the Canadian government's stand on fuel economy issues, based partially on uncertainty regarding the automotive industry's technological capability to meet the Accord's 25% improvement in fuel economy targeted for 2010, and also whether consumers will want to buy the vehicles they produce if technically feasible. After all, they'll no doubt be slower and more costly.
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| Will GM eventually need to axe many of its large SUVs and light trucks just to meet the requirements set out by the Kyoto Accord? (Photo: GM Canada) |
"The question becomes: Do you have to compromise the functionality and performance of some of the products we offer?" Grimaldi added. "And if you compromise the functionality, is the product competitive in the market or is it better not to offer it?" he continued.
According to the report, Grimaldi said "the vehicle in question becomes the larger vehicle, which serves a commercial purpose as well as personal use." There's little doubt the GM president is referring to full and midsize SUVs and light trucks, the profitability backbone of all Big 3 automakers.