adminFrom an ultrafast Bentley cabriolet to a completely redesigned Corvette, to a clutch of new BMWs and Audis, carmakers were confident that lower-volume, higher-margin cars would find buyers in the coming year despite the slow global economy and the recession in Europe. Carmakers are also increasingly taking aim at younger buyers no longer seen as bound to their parents’ brands and — according to Infiniti chief Johan de Nysschen — not wedded to the idea that only the Germans get it right.
Despite the slowdown in Europe, manufacturers are optimistic that the rebound in the US market and the still-strong China market will be enough to keep them going.US sales are expected to rise 5 to 10 percent in 2013 after jumping 13 percent in 2012, the biggest yearly gain since 1984.
The Detroit Three carmakers are raking in huge profits again after years of painful restructuring and a renewed focus on the product side of their business. Their Asian and European counterparts are also investing heavily in the United States, as they jostle for position in the highly competitive market amid a slowdown in China and Brazil and the collapse of European demand.
“The product is the best consumers have seen in a long time,” Jesse Toprak, an analyst with the automotive site TrueCar.com, said.
In China, the world’s largest market, last year’s double-digit growth is slowing, but could still hit five to 6 percent in 2013, according to BMW marketing chief Ian Robertson. GM’s new Corvette was the most hotly anticipated debut of the show.
Dubbed the Stingray, a name Corvette used for its iconic 1963 model, the quintessential 60-year-old American sports car nevertheless had an “Italianate” feel in its complete makeover, its first in eight years, said one car analyst. — AFP.
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