Issue link: http://georgiancollege.uberflip.com/i/602646
"We want everyone to have a safe vehicle," says Peter. The MV-1 is purpose-built and crash tested. Peter describes it as building a car around a best-in-class door opening and ramp. The market is about 60/40 commercial to consumer for the vehicle, which ranges from $49,000 to $64,000. More and more taxi, airport limo and public transit organizations are using them. On July 1, Barrie Transit rolled out a fleet of eight MV-1s. They provided 3,900 rides in specialized vehicles that month. Peter loves hearing stories about how the MV-1 gives his clients freedom. He says many have traded in their low-mileage conversion vans that they only drove out of necessity. Then within a year of getting the MV-1, they make a service call to him and he sees the car already has 45,000 km on it. The user experience drives Peter's business philosophy. As a startup original equipment manufacturer (OEM), he incorporates all aspects of what he learned in his Georgian studies. He has built a network of 17 dealers and 685 service locations across the country, finding alumni connections along the way. When he was having trouble getting insurance companies to recognize the MV-1's vehicle identification number, it was a former classmate working at the Insurance Bureau of Canada who helped him. And Andrew MacIver (featured on page 18) is an MV-1 dealer in Winnipeg. "Since we don't have to worry about building the vehicle, it's our network that is game changing," he says. While Peter Grande was working at his family's car leasing company, he saw a need for more accessible vehicles in the market. He started by leasing 150 converted Dodge Grand Caravans to the Toronto Transit Commission and was always on the hunt for new technology in the field. He found it in the MV-1. Introduced to the market in 2011, it is the only vehicle in North America specifically designed for the needs of people who use wheelchairs and their caregivers. Now Peter heads MV-1 Canada, the exclusive Canadian distributor of the vehicle. BUSINESS ADMINISTRATION — AUTOMOTIVE MARKETING, 1999 PRESIDENT AND Co-FoUNDER, MV-1 CANADA PETER GRANDE Setting the new standard for mobility transportation solutions for people of all abilities 13 GEORGIANVIEW 2015 PRoBLEM-SoLVERS