Studebaker Canada

Studebaker Canada

Studebaker of Canada Ltd. was the name given to Studebaker Corporation's Canadian manufacturing arm.

While Studebaker produced cars in Canada prior to World War II, Studebaker's first modern automobile factory was established at Hamilton, Ontario in 1947, in an anti-aircraft gun plant purchased from the Canadian government. From its opening until December 1963, the Hamilton plant manufactured automobiles as a satellite facility using engines produced in the United States. Studebaker half-ton pickup trucks were assembled at Hamilton, Ontario, from 1950 through 1955.

Studebaker of Canada and Packard Motor Company of Canada merged in 1954. Packard had ceased Canadian assembly operations in 1939, and the Canadian affiliate was a distribution and administrative organization. Although the 1957 and 1958 Packards were based on Studebaker models, none were assembled in Canada.

On October 28, 1962, Studebaker of Canada acquired the rights to import and market Mercedes-Benz and DKW automobiles in Canada. As in the United States, the Mercedes-Benz line was not sold by all Studebaker dealers as each dealer had to prove they had the resources to market a car in that price class. Studebaker of Canada ended its connection with Mercedes-Benz in 1965.

During the 1963 model year, Studebaker of Canada made some changes to its product mix. In mid-year the Canadian plant began assembly of the Daytona convertible and the Cruiser sedan, both imported to that point. The Studebaker Avanti was never built in Canada and the Canadian firm never offered the mid-1963 Standard series to Canadians. When the 1963 model year came to an end, the Studebaker Gran Turismo Hawk became an imported vehicle.

Following the closure of the South Bend, Indiana factory in late December 1963, Studebaker shifted all of its production to Hamilton, where it was felt the company could be profitable on production of around 20,000 units a year. Because of limited plant capacity, the decision was made to focus on the Daytona, Cruiser, Commander and Wagonaire, which were all Lark-type platform variants. Studebaker would not shift production of the Hawk, Avanti and truck series to Canada.

For the remainder of the 1964 model year, engines continued to be built in South Bend (until the expiration of union contracts at year end), but without casting capabilities in Hamilton, the company shifted to small block Chevrolet V8 and I6 engines for the 1965 model year. The engines were produced by McKinnon Industries, a GM subsidiary located in nearby St. Catharines.