(Newswire.net — January 13, 2016) — Last year, the US car industry sold the largest number of cars in US history. US automakers had a record year, especially, Ford and General Motors. North American International Auto Show (NAIAS) in Detroit, going on now until the 24th of January, is a good opportunity for those who still have not chosen their favorite model, to see what new models the US and world car industry have to offer.
Thanks to low fuel prices and record-low interest rates, Americans are buying more cars than ever before. Car sales in 2015 could reach a record of $ 17.5 million, which would break the record of 17.35 million units set in 2000.
Analysts expect that more cars will be sold this year because of reduced unemployment, and the market is already seeing more young customers.
“General Motors” has had the biggest increase, with a growth of five percent with more than three million vehicles sold. “Ford” the best selling brand for the sixth year in a row, has sold more than two million vehicles. At the same time, “Volkswagen” recorded a decline in sales in September 2015 after admitting that the company had cheated on tests of exhaust emissions for diesel engines.
Apart from these car companies, at the North American International Auto Show, more than 70 car manufacturers will display their models. More than 800,000 visitors are expected to arrive. Among them will also be the president of the United States Barack Obama. He announced that he will visit NAIAS on January 20th. His attendance at the show is part of his farewell tour in his last presidential year.
For the US shoppers, the Germans have become more attractive than usual. Powerful vehicles like the BMW X5 or “Mercedes’ M-Class are in demand, since the price of oil fell, the mood for purchasing powerful engines has grown, regardless of their use of resources and the effects on the environment.
Despite all that, the Detorit car show is already obsolete because the newest models and the newest trends were just presented at CES (January 6-9, 2016) in Las Vegas. “Detroit car show is the first major fair of the year, but we have already seen the new car trends in Las Vegas. That’s not surprising because consumer electronics and car industries can no longer be separated”, concludes Auto Bild.
Nevertheless, let’s look at what the trends that will mark the new car models in the future are.
Autonomous driving is a megatrend. By 2030, according to forecasts, 15 percent of the cars will have been driven autonomously. In Detorit, you can see the C26 self-driving concept. Volvo calls it “relaxation mode” – when you’re stuck in traffic you just press a button and have the car which drives autonomously take over.
Another trend, which is growing rapidly, is car sharing. It means that more and more people are sharing the same car. In the future, we will not buy one car for all our needs, we will buy the convertible for the beach, wagon for shopping, SUV for long rides…
What is the future of electric cars?
Low fuel prices are slowing down production and purchase of electric cars, but just for a little bit. The development of a “green car” is unstoppable. At NAIAS in Detroit, you can see the Chevy Bolt 2017, this car has a 200 mile range, and a price tag of $37,500. Other interesting concepts are long-range electric Volkswagen Microbus, Chrysler plug-in hybrid minivan, and the Audi hydrogen concept car.
World debuts in Detroit are reserved for Lexus LC 500 sport coupe, Fiat Chrysler’s new Pacifica minivan, Acura Precision, Lincoln Continental, new Infiniti Q60, Porsche 911 Turbo and 911 Turbo S, BMW M2, Mercedes-Benz E-Class… and Aston Martin is back for the first time since 2009.