With the holidays behind us, the automotive industry wastes no time getting down to business by reporting sales and kicking off the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas this week.
Automakers are expected to finish 2022 on a high note with sales up about 4% in December and more than 8% for the fourth quarter.
However, the full year numbers don’t figure to be as pleasing. The analysts at Kelley Blue Book forecast this year to finish near 13.9 million units — a decrease of 8% from 2021 and the lowest level since 2011.
General Motors is expected to retake the sales title from Toyota, which supplanted its Detroit-based rival last year for the first time ever.
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The totals will be released Wednesday, Jan. 4 with Ford and a few others will report on Jan. 5. While the final sales tallies are being revealed, plenty of eyes will be focused on Sin City and CES 2023.
Perhaps the biggest news will come from Stellantis CEO Carlos Tavares who will show off the Ram Revolution battery-electric pickup.
Few details have been released, but the company claims the truck will deliver as much as 500 miles of range, putting it ahead of offerings from Ford, Chevrolet, GMC and Rivian. The battery-electric Ram is expected to hit the streets sometime in 2024.
In addition, BMW Chairman Oliver Zipser will present automaker’s vision of the “ultimate digital driving machine.” Hyundai and Kia will also be at the show — as will Sony, which seems to like to offer a surprise or two during this event.
