BYD, Brilliance Set To Appear At Detroit Show
The North American International Auto Show (NAIAS) or Detroit Auto Show has announced that two automotive manufacturers from the People’s Republic of China (PRC) will display their cars at the 2009 show which will be held this January. Brilliance Auto and BYD will be bringing several models to Detroit, though neither company has announced which ones will be present.
For BYD (affectionately named Build Your Death by members of the media), this will be a return appearance, having been at last year’s show. For Brilliance Auto, this will be their first visit to any car show in North America.
Brilliance is a partner company to BMW and plans to begin selling its first cars in the United States later in 2009. The automaker gained notoriety in 2008 when its BS6 (nice name, eh?) miserably failed a European car crash test, earning a one-star rating. Later in the year, the automaker redid the test, but still only managed three-stars. The company says that by the end of 2008 their American bound vehicles will meet stringent safety requirements, supposedly these same vehicles will be on display in Detroit.
To date, no Chinese manufacturer has sold a single model in the U.S. Back in 2005, Chery Automotive was planning to enter the U.S. market, even partnering with a U.S. distributor who planned to bring several models stateside. That plan never worked out.
Geely Automobile Holdings Limited has also considered selling cars in North America, but the automaker has yet to move in that direction. Changfeng Motors was the first automaker from the PRC to display its cars in Detroit, having made the trip there in 2007.
Chinese cars have a distinct price advantage thanks to very low wages and minimal design effort. Take a look at most any Chinese vehicle and you’ll notice a similar pattern across most model lines — designs were ripped off from other manufacturers, though PRC courts have upheld these copyright violations.
BTW, BYD actually means Build Your Dreams — we’ll let you decide if the media’s depiction was a fair one or not!
2009 NAIAS Promises To Maintain Wow Factor
Arguably Detroit’s biggest and most important bash of the year, the North American International Auto Show continues to offer the best opportunity for manufacturers to showcase new models and concepts to a press corps now exceeding 7000 people. Attendance at the public event remains 
strong, with more than 700,000 people visiting the Cobo Center in downtown Detroit, this despite being held in a facility which is clearly outdated and unable to provide the room needed to house all of the vehicles shown.
For 2009, the NAIAS will again be the main attraction and will be the forum where several manufacturers will introduce their latest cars. As of this writing, the Cobo Center is once again being readied for next year’s event which will kick off with press days from January 11-13, 2009, before being opened to the public from January 17-25.
Coming Attractions At The Upcoming NAIAS
So far, we know that the following cars will make their way to Detroit for their first looks:
- The next generation Toyota Prius.
- An unnamed new Lexus model.
- The 2010 Cadillac SRX crossover.
- The 2010 Audi RS5.
- A full line of cars from Chinese manufacturer Brilliance Automotive, who plans on beginning selling cars in the US later in 2009.
Other manufacturers will certainly use Detroit as the launching ground for their newest vehicles with some announcing their offerings as we get closer to the January show.
Growing Competition From Los Angeles
The Los Angeles Auto Show, which is now held in November, is becoming a bit more of a challenge to the NAIAS as manufacturers are also choosing that venue to introduce new products. At the L.A. show, Nissan will be introducing the Cube, Chevrolet the Cruze, Ford will take the wraps off of its 2010 Mustang, and Buick will show the replacement for its LaCrosse. Whatever cars are shown at Los Angeles will still be shown at Detroit, but the wrapping is off of the present by the time these models make it to the Motor City.
A New Cobo Center?
The city of Detroit and the county of Oakland are working together in hopes of finding the funding needed to build a new Cobo Center or expand the current facility. With a floorspace capacity of 700,000 square feet, the Cobo Center is stretched to the maximum each time the NAIAS is held. Some fear that if the venue doesn’t grow in size it won’t be able to keep up with NAIAS demand which could result in a competing city winning the NAIAS designation.
Already, some manufacturers (including Porsche) have chosen not to showcase their cars in Detroit, citing stronger customer demand in bigger markets including Los Angeles, Chicago, and New York, cities which would love to wrest the NAIAS from Detroit.
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