Perhaps the most amazing thing about modern vehicle assembly is that there’s really very little of the vehicle itself manufactured by the manufacturer. For example, when the Ford Model T was introduced in 1908, everything on the car was produced at one of Ford’s factories. Even the steel for the body and engine was smelted on site. Today, it’s the suppliers that the auto industry is built upon; everything from spark plugs to seats comes straight from a supplier. It makes sense for automakers to purchase these parts from elsewhere. But what happens when a supplier decides it wants to build a car? That’s been the case for Aurora, Ont.-based Magna International, one of the world’s largest automotive suppliers. Magna is edging closer to the role of not only of automaker, but an environmentally conscious one at that. This Canadian corporation is aiming to become the world’s leader in electric cars. While there’s plenty of green growing from Canadian soil with companies like ZENN and Electrovaya going for the low-speed electric market, Magna’s aiming for higher ground, and its size gives it advantages that the others can only dream of. – Mark Atkinson