Technology is driving the automotive sector forward. Advancements in tech hardware and software are transforming the traditional automotive industry and experience. Autotech is the future of the industry; a future Toronto area’s York Region is more than ready for.
As both Canada’s largest electronics/hardware design and manufacturing capabilities cluster and the nation’s second largest overall tech hub, there’s a unique balance here between emerging vehicle tech and traditional automotive capacity. This supports a powerful ecosystem where both advanced and rising star companies come to align themselves for success.
York Region is home to one of the largest and most comprehensive Autotech ecosystems in North America.
Trillium Network for Advanced Manufacturing, Western University, January 2022
When it comes to operations, York Region has multiple capabilities including niche assembly facilities, electronic vehicle tech, parts and components manufacturing, Industry 4.0, and connected and autonomous tech. Above and beyond manufacturing operations, companies want to base themselves and their hubs here. This is why York Region is home to the global headquarters for three of Canada’s five largest parts manufacturers and various Canadian headquarters for leading software and ICT companies. Businesses here get to take advantage of the collaborative environment with an ecosystem of over 250 Autotech-related companies.
One of these is General Motors Canada, which in 2018 chose to locate their Canadian Technical Centre (CTC) – Markham Campus in York Region due to the benefits of the area. GM’s CTC – Markham Campus operates as a research and development facility working on hardware and software innovation within electric and connected vehicles. The work done here has more than national scale and significance, it truly is global, as the innovation being done at the CTC – Markham Campus substantially changes the user experience of GM drivers everywhere.
Qualcomm, a leading global software communication organization, has two office locations in the Region. In 2021, they acquired the software-side of Veoneer, a leader in the automotive industry. Originally, fellow York Region headquartered and global automotive parts supplier, Magna International, were lined up to acquire Veoneer’s operations before the bid from Qualcomm.
The acquisition of Veoneer’s software business truly speaks to the shift of the industry when a communications company is the winning bid for a global name in the automotive industry. It also speaks to the capacity of the ecosystem in York Region, when leaders in multiple industries are competing to advance innovation in the Autotech space, while simultaneously growing their businesses.
Multimatic, one of the fastest growing Autotech manufacturers in the world, has its global headquarters, technical centre, and various manufacturing facilities in York Region. Here they do niche assembly work while conducting virtually all their research and development locally through the employment of more than 2,500 workers.
Their impact and expertise are reflected in the fact they were carefully selected by Ford Motors to produce the company’s limited run high-performance vehicles including the GT and upcoming 2023 Bronco DR. Prior to that they have also been responsible for the production of the Valkyrie supercar from Aston Martin and continue to be heavily involved in developing next-level parts technology for various automotive racing purposes.
The technological capabilities of York Region’s Autotech ecosystem are unmatched when compared to other leading Autotech jurisdictions across North America (Trillium Network for Advanced Manufacturing, Western University), making it an ideal location for current and future automotive sector players. To learn more and chat with us in person about York Region’s Autotech and full tech ecosystem – the second largest tech hub in Canada, visit us at Collision Conference in the #YRtech Pavilion (E234) from June 21-23rd at the Enercare Centre in downtown Toronto. We’ll see you there!