Hello from the Huntington Place convention centre in downtown Detroit. 

At this year’s North American International Auto Show, the promise of technological change—and the upheaval it causes—is here, and available in your choice of 2024 model trims.

The annual showcase for automakers’ new wares has a grim backdrop this year. About 146,000 unionized U.S. auto workers could walk off the job starting tonight if a deal isn’t reached to avert a UAW strike, as workers worry they’ll be displaced in the EV transition. Canada’s auto workers aren’t far behind, with a strike deadline of Monday night for the Detroit 3 automakers, Ford, GM and Stellantis. 

Meanwhile, this edition of the show has been downsized from previous years, reflecting the struggles of North America’s auto hub. Just as Ford and GM face increased competition from upstarts like Tesla and BYD, so does the auto show, from Silicon Valley expos like CES and the increasingly important Auto Shanghai.

Nonetheless, Canada’s auto startups are pinning their hopes on the show’s success. A quick hop across the border, it is still the fastest way for many young Canadian companies to meet a who’s-who of the global industry. 

“In Australia and in Canada, we have to go through procurement people … whereas we come to someplace like Detroit, we usually get to talk to someone that can make a decision,” said Tim Hill, who co-founded the fleet-data platform Fleetyr with Windsor, Ont.-born Brodie Ruttan, in an interview on the conference floor. 

“Even though this might be a bit smaller, we just find that you might only talk to 10,15 people, but they’re the right people to talk to.”

Vancouver-based Miru, which makes smart windows, is trying to break into the auto market after success in the building sector. 

“Our first target is to meet [manufacturers] to have a clear understanding of our value proposition. If it ticks all the boxes, that’s very important for us to understand,” said Alain Jardinet, vice-president of sales. 

Amirreza Amighi, CEO of Toronto-based Mazlite—whose technology helps detect abnormalities in car-painting equipment—said he prefers Detroit to tech shows like CES where issues like the industrial supply chain aren’t necessarily talked about. For him, Detroit is still the place to close deals.

“We had more luck in the U.S. in the last round of investments,” he said. “There’s a lot of capital waiting for us in Canada once we are at a specific stage: Later Series A, Series B. In Canada, we are a little bit more conservative.” 

While the showroom may be sparser, the event has improved over the last five or 10 years as a confab for the auto supply chain, said Toronto-based Haze Automotive’s CEO, Sean Mario Hazaray. 

And while the convention centre is the place to be, events on the fringes—like The Battery Show in Novi, Mich., a suburb about 45 mins to the northwest—are of growing importance, said Kostyantyn Khomutov, CEO of Ottawa-based GBatteries, which makes battery tech for ultra-fast charging.

“It’s the largest I have ever seen it,” said Khomutov, who had staff at both events in a bid to “secure customers, tell the world what we can do.” 

Even a downsized Detroit Auto Show offers access to a global stage that’s hard to pass up, said Sam Poirier, CEO of New Brunswick’s Potential Motors. 

“I think Canadians in general, we punch above our weight, but we don’t always talk about how we punch above our weight,” said Poirier.

“That’s why it’s important for us to come to things like this so that we can get it out there that we’re building this incredible technology.” 

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