The president of the VDA, Matthias Wissmann, said at a conference during the North American International Auto Show, that the year which had just started would at least be as fruitful as the one which had ended, with the VDA estimating a growth of 11 percent, to a total of 12.8 million light vehicles (in 2010, the number of units sold on US soil reached 11.6 million vehicles, lower than prior to the crisis but on the rebound).
Being one of the most important expanding markets for the German car makers, the US will play a pivotal role in the future of the European brands. The fact that several indicators (average age of the population, much younger than that in Germany, for instance) seem to be going the manufacturer's way can do nothing but increase the importance of the American market for the German industry.
"I said in Detroit at the beginning of 2009 - and one year ago I repeated this - we are convinced that in the long term the US market will resume a path of expansion. Today I can see that my assessment has been fully confirmed,” said Wissmann.
“And there's more: the motor driving growth is already running at speed. If we compare the years 2011 and 2009, we find that over this period the US market will increase by 23 per cent, or 2.4 million light vehicles.”
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