Carmakers rework plans to bet more on SUVs

Detroit

GLOBAL carmakers are reworking their product strategies and investments for the United States to bring more sport utility vehicles (SUVs) to showrooms amid a sharp turn away from small- and medium-sized cars, executives at Detroit's car show say.

Carmakers from Toyota Motor Corp to General Motors Co to Volkswagen AG are adding more SUVs to their product plans, amid forecasts that SUVs and pickup trucks could soon make up two-thirds of US light vehicle sales, up from 56 per cent in 2015 and just under 60 per cent last year. "The shift to trucks is profound," said Mike Jackson, chief executive of AutoNation Inc, the largest US car dealership chain.

Sedans are not only losing sales volume, but carmakers and dealers are offering bigger discounts to move them out of showrooms, industry executives said. Profi…