WXYZ Detroit
Glenda Lewis and Chad Britton
Dec. 5, 2023
The next generation took center stage on the 16th floor of 1 Campus Martius where the future of automotive was the driving force.
“We’ve got a couple of our young people who are working in the industry in tech careers, who are living the Pure Michigan lifestyle, and building careers here in Michigan talking about the critical issues that are impacting Michigan’s Automotive and mobility industry,” said Glenn Stevens, Executive Director of MICHauto.
More than 250 movers and shakers in the mobility industry gathered for the day-long annual MICHauto summit, filled with speakers, workshops, and awards, and a focus on getting in gear beyond the tense past couple of months.
WXYZ’s Glenda Lewis asked, “Any talk about the striking and how that plays into the future?”
“Yes, we’ve come through that. Labor and management built this state and it’s going to be a partnership that has to get us to where we need to go, so there will be discussions about that. But more importantly, how do we build for the future,” said Stevens.
“There is a trust factor too. Are young people more receptive,” asked Lewis.
“They are, we call them new buyers. The new buyer is an emotionally invested buyer, socially motivated,” said Joe McCabe. “Now we have a generation, especially after COVID, where you’re stuck in house and where you say, I’m going to buy it because I know someone that’s driving it and they gave advice on it.”
President CEO Auto Forecast Solutions Joe McCabe says it may take a different kind of spark for EVs to really take off.
“If I was a car manufacturer today and I wanted to compete against a Tesla, I’d find a great designer and make five of them and hand five of them to the top five TikTokers and Influencers and I would have 10 million eyeballs on day one,” said Joe McCabe.