Automotive

Leading Canada’s automotive future

In Waterloo, automotive starts with Canada’s largest automaker, Toyota, which has won 16 J.D Power and Associates Awards for quality at its Waterloo-based operation. Add in dozens of top tier suppliers, an unmatched automotive research capacity and innovation labs for companies like Bosch and Ford, and you can see why Waterloo is a powerhouse in automotive, autotech and mobility.

Waterloo at a Glance

The University of Waterloo’s WatCAR is the largest university-based automotive research centre in Canada.

$1.4B

Toyota invested $1.4 billion into its Waterloo facilities in 2018, paving the way for local manufacturing of hybrid Toyota and Lexus vehicles.

90+

More than 90 automotive and autotech companies are developing groundbreaking technologies in Waterloo.

$3.8B

The Canadian government has committed $3.8 billion to the development of Ontario’s nickel, lithium and other EV-related mineral wealth.

Canadian Automotive Corridor

At the heart of the Canadian automotive corridor. Located along Canada’s 401 superhighway, the Ontario automotive corridor is one of the richest concentrations of auto-related resources in the world.

What you’ll find within 298km/185mi of Waterloo:

700+ automotive suppliers
10 OEM R&D centres
13 assembly lines
5 powertrain facilities.

Our Support Ecosystem

Driving automotive innovation

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Waterloo Centre for Automotive Research

WatCAR focuses on collaborative research in automotive and transportation systems and facilitates relations between those in the automotive industry and more than 125 university faculty researchers.

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Applied Nanomaterials and Clean Energy Lab

Located at the University of Waterloo, this lab develops advanced nanomaterials for use in sustainable energy solutions, including fuel cells, lithium ion batteries, lithium sulphur batteries, metal air batteries and next generation batteries.

Autonomous Vehicle Research And Intelligence Lab

AVRIL is helping create tomorrow's advanced mobility options including automated driving, vehicle connectivity and advanced driver assistance systems.

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