SEOUL, KOREA - The 2014 Detroit Motor Show, which opened on January 13 at the Cobo Center in Detroit, has three keywords—small, strong and special.
Global car makers are showing off a variety of high-performance luxury cars there, aimed at targeting the U.S. compact car market that has been expanding since the global financial crisis in 2008.
Car sales in the United States totaled 15.58 million units last year, up 8 percent from a year ago. This year’s car sales there are expected to reach 16.1 million units, up 3 percent from a year before.
The U.S. car market is expected to continue its growth this year but at a slower pace due to the tapering of quantitative easing. That is why global car makers are releasing new luxury cars targeting deep-pocketed high income earners there. For example, Mercedes Benz’s 360-hp high-performance compact SUV “The New GLS 45 AMG will make debut in the market.