CGTN America
The annual North American International Auto Show (NAIAS) is one of the most highly-anticipated automotive exhibits. The two-week ebent aims to let attendees get up close to the latest automotive ideas, products and luxury cars. CCTV America’s Roza Kazan reported the story from Detroit, Michigan.
The kick-off of the automotive show was a dazzling array of glitz and horsepower, featuring more than two dozen of the most expensive ultra-luxury, ultra-performance and exotic cars on the market.
The show featured about $8 million worth of cars, including:
- Aston Martin V12 Vantage: $185,000
- Jaguar F-Type project 7: $165,000
- Rolls Royce Wraith: $285,000
The most expensive vehicle on the show’s floor was a 2015 model from Porsche. It’s a hybrid – 918 Spyder, starting at about $845,000.
Luxury car brands’ sales hit record levels in 2014, with BMW, Porsche, Mercedes-Benz, Infinity, Bentley, Maserati, and others all enjoying a bumper year.
“It was a record-breaking year for Porsche. In the United States we sold 47,007 total units, which exceeded our expectations wildly,” Calvin Kim, product experience manager for Porsche Cars North America, Inc. said. “We attribute that just people understanding the value of having a quality automobile.”
It was an especially good year for the automobile industry in the United States. Overall sales of cars and trucks, including premium cars, topped 16.5 million in 2014 and surpassed the 16 million mark for the first time since 2006.
Analysts cited an improving economy, job creation, wage growth, and lower gasoline prices for the boost in sales, and they expect the momentum to continue in 2015.
The organizers at the car show said all this meant the auto show and the industry were making a remarkable comeback.
“The displays are bigger than ever. People are really starting to take branding to whole new level,” Bob Caza, Communications Director for NAIAS, said. “A few years ago, we started seeing a lot of the displays cutting back because of the recession. But the show is back, the industry is back, there is an energy when you walk the show floor that we haven’t seen in a quite a few years.”
Meanwhile, host city Detroit exited bankruptcy last month, which at $18 billion was the largest municipal bankruptcy in U.S. history.
Carmakers bet big on electric vehicles
It was a display of horsepower, glamour and optimism-the North American International Auto Show opened to the media Monday morning with the Best Car and Best Truck of the year. CCTV America’s Roza Kazan reported from Detroit.
Carmakers bet big on electric vehicles
It was a display of horsepower, glamour and optimism-the North American International Auto Show opened to the media Monday morning with the Best Car and Best Truck of the year. CCTV America’s Roza Kazan reported from Detroit.General Motors deepened its commitment to electric vehicles with a faster version of its popular hybrid Chevrolet Volt. GM says the Volt can now travel an estimated 50 miles per charge on electricity alone-an improvement of more than 30 percent.
Sales of the current Volt fell shy of just 19,000 last years-a drop of nearly 19 percent from the year before. But Chevy still sees a brighter future for electric vehicles.
“We believe overtime the demand will increase as the technology becomes more affordable, we’ve obviously taken the opportunity to translate that into the pricing of that vehicle so we are very optimistic,” GM North America President Alan Batey said.
GM says Bolt will run 200 miles on single charge-four times the range of the Volt in electric mode. After government subsidies, The Bolt will cost around $30,000-a bargain when compared to a Tesla.
“Tesla is a vehicle that has an average transaction price of about $100,000. Many would say that’s just for the rich and famous. This is going to be a vehicle for the people,” Batey said.
Nissan also unveiled its new Titan XD full-sized truck, hoping to grab more market share away from the U.S. automakers.
The question is whether the steady growth in electric vehicle sales will continue with the price of gas less than half of what it was six months ago, and still falling.
Journalist Doron Levin on Detroit auto show
For more, CCTV America interviewed Doren Levin, a Detroit-based journalist who covers the auto industry.
