This year’s conference will focus on ways to help dealers thrive amid a quickly changing economic and political landscape.

There’s a lot to navigate in today’s world of automotive retailing. At MVRO, our goal has always been to find new and innovative ways to help guide dealers through an ever-changing landscape and offer a range of services and venues to elevate their business. Over the last decade, one event that has consistently resonated with automotive retailers has been the annual Automotive Conference & Expo (ACE), that MVRO organizes in conjunction with Consolidated Dealers.

Comprehensive event

From day one, the objective was to provide the Canadian automotive industry with a comprehensive event—one that provides a large onsite trade show where dealers can interact directly with vendors, as well as offering unparalleled networking opportunities and workshops, as well as key insights from major national and international thought leaders and business/industry experts. For 2024, ACE will take place at Fallsview Casino & Resort in Niagara Falls during October 17-18. As I write these words, we expect over 900 attendees and a complete sell out based on our initial response to early bird registrations. Additionally, the ACE 2024 tradeshow will have more than 70 vendors displaying their products and services.

Given how unpredictable the automotive industry and economic/political landscape has become over the last several years, our keynote sessions this year will focus heavily on topics at the top of mind of many dealers, OEMs, vendors and other industry stakeholders.

Amber Mac, President of Ambermac Media, will be Demistifying Artificial Intelligence, including sharing four lessons that every leader and professional needs to know so that they can grow, learn and communicate in the age of AI, all while making a positive impact in today’s unpredictable world and driving real value for customers. This will be a practical, and highly relevant talk that’s been specifically tailored to an automotive retail audience.

Global EV insights

Another topic that’s never far from the headlines these days are electric vehicles. Yet the market for EVs is proving to be highly unpredictable and difficult to navigate. One concern is how a wave of EVs coming from China will impact global automotive markets. Michael Dunne, CEO of Dunne Insights will delve into some of China’s top automakers, including their strengths and weaknesses, how these brands and their vehicles have performed in other developed markets such as Australia and the UK, as well as China’s global ambitions and potential geopolitical risks that could shape the industry and our economy in the future.

Sticking with economics, Jean-Francois Perrault, Senior Vice President and Chief Economist at Scotiabank, will take a look what we can expect over the coming year, including interest rate predictions in both Canada and the U.S., as well as the impact the upcoming U.S. Presidential election is likely to have on both sides of the border.

Canada’s present and future

Since ACE takes place in the final stages of the U.S. President Election cycle, we will also be hosting a very special session that will focus on policy here at home. Bruce Croxon, Digital Innovator, Investor and former “Dragon” on the popular TV series Dragon’s Den, will be interviewing the Right Honourable Stephen Harper. Serving as Canada’s 22^nd Prime Minster from 2006-until 2015, Stephen Harper founded the current Conservative Party of Canada and led the country through a highly complex and unpredictable political and economic landscape, including the Great Recession of 2008-09. This exclusive interview, which will look at Canada’s current and future state is a session you will not want to miss.

We will also be hosting numerous workshops during the course of the event, and NCM Associations will present a quick-hitting session that looks at best practices from Dealer 20 Groups. There will also be ample networking opportunities as well as our infamous ACE Kick Off Party at nearby Margaritaville. We’re very much looking forward to hosting this year’s conference and we hope to see you there in October. For more details visit https://automotiveconferenceandexpo.ca/