|
 But many of the changes on display at the city's annual auto show
will not reflect the green-transport revival the president
envisioned.
"We said the auto industry would have to truly change, not just
pretend that it did," the president said Saturday in a weekly radio
address devoted to Detroit.
The 'Detroit Three' automakers racked up record sales and profits in
the U.S. market last year not because of electric cars or plug-in
hybrids, but because of soaring demand for pickup trucks and sport
utility vehicles fueled by gasoline prices that hit multi-year lows.
At General Motors Co, the focal point of Detroit’s bailout, pickups
and SUVs accounted for nearly 70 percent of last year’s sales. In
2016 one of the SUVs GM sells in America - - the Buick Envision -
will be, for the first time, imported from China, to the chagrin of
the United Auto Workers union, a key Obama constituency.
With oil prices expected to stay low for some time, all the major
automakers are looking for a bigger slice of U.S. truck market
profits.
Nissan Motor Co <7201.T> and Honda Motor Co <7267.T> are using auto
show press previews on Monday to promote new versions of their
full-size pickups, the Titan and the Ridgeline, respectively.
The big splash from bailout beneficiary Fiat Chrysler Automobiles <FCHA.MI>
is not a small car, but a sleeker, updated minivan, which comes in a
plug-in hybrid version and a powerful gasoline model more people are
likely to buy. There are also new luxury vehicles to be unveiled: a
revamped Lincoln Continental is expected from Ford Motor Co <F.N>
and Hyundai Motor Co's <005380.KS> new flagship luxury sedan, the
G90.
Obama has made boosting fuel efficiency a cornerstone of his energy
and climate policy. Mandates from California and other states are
prodding automakers to continue rolling out zero emission electric
vehicles, such as GM's Chevrolet Bolt, even if sales remain slow.
In his 2011 State of the Union Address, Obama renewed a call he made
as a candidate in 2008 to get 1 million plug-in electric vehicles (EVs)
on the road by 2015. But sales have been far slower than expected -
only about 490,000 vehicles, including 115,000 in 2015, down 6
percent from 2014. Automakers have been forced to cut EV prices and
sales forecasts.
The next president will decide the fate of Obama's goal of boosting
average fuel efficiency to 54.5 miles per gallon (23.2 km per liter)
by 2025. A decision on whether the final 2021-2025 regulations are
feasible is due by April 2018, under a new president.
The average fuel economy of new vehicles sold in the United States
has improved over the past few years, standing at 24.9 mpg in
December. It is down 0.9 mpg from the peak reached in August 2014,
but still up 4.8 mpg since October 2007.
[to top of second column] |
Ford will unveil a revamped Fusion midsize car at the Detroit show
that symbolizes automakers' efforts to meet very different
regulatory and market demands. The 2017 Fusion will have a plug-in
hybrid model, with a new Platinum luxury package available, and a
Sport model with a 325-horsepower twin-turbo powered engine more
potent than a BMW 3340.
The auto show also will lay bare another juggling act for Detroit.
While the U.S. automakers still make most of their money from big
'body-on-frame' vehicles powered by gasoline, just as they did 60
years ago, they are cruising into a high-tech world of connected
cars that ultimately will lead to self-driving, or 'autonomous'
vehicles powered by batteries.
The contrast will be stark between last week’s Consumer Electronics
Show in Las Vegas, where autonomous driving took center stage as GM
and Ford announced new high-tech initiatives, and the display of
traditional heavy metal in Detroit. But even in the Motor City, the
high-tech future of mobility will not be completely ignored.
The new Mercedes-Benz E-Class from German automaker Daimler AG will
offer so many advanced driver assistance technologies that with just
a few software changes the car could be allowed to drive itself
hands-free, company executives have said.
The difference between the new E-class and Tesla Motors Inc's <TSLA.O>
electric Model S is that Tesla Chief Executive Elon Musk is willing
to allow extended hands-free driving, albeit with more limitations
as of Sunday than before, and Mercedes executives are not.
Forecasts for the widespread adoption of autonomous cars range
between five and 20 years away. But their advent could lead to a
fresh crisis for traditional automakers and their employees,
Barclays auto analyst Brian Johnson said Sunday at an automotive
event.
If self-driving, shared cars become the norm, he said, that could
mean 60 percent fewer vehicles on the road, and a one-third
reduction in the number of auto-assembly plants by 2025 or 2030.
(Reporting By Paul Ingrassia and David Shepardson; Editing by Bill
Rigby)
[© 2016 Thomson Reuters. All rights
reserved.] Copyright 2016 Reuters. All rights reserved. This material may not be published,
broadcast, rewritten or redistributed. |
