Will The Auto Industry Continue To Grow? Or Will The Market Slip in 2017?

The Detroit Bureau’s Paul Eisenstein says there are already signs of market decline.

Bre’Anna Tinsley/WDET

After Christmas and the New Year we look forward to our own kind of annual holiday here in Detroit, the North American International Auto Show.

There was a period of time when the auto show was losing its magic. The auto industry was suffering and some luxury car companies stopped coming to the show in Detroit.

The auto show has since rebounded, and we’re seeing new and exciting innovation every year.

But the great growth in recent memory is an impermanent state, says Paul Eisenstein, publisher of The Detroit Bureau website.

“The big question going forward is will the market start to slip in 2017? There’s already signs that it will,” says Eisenstein. “There were a lot of people who thought the auto industry would not hit a record this cycle.”

Eisenstein says the biggest question is whether there will simply be a small decline or a wholesale collapse in sales. He says much of what happens with the industry will hinge on the politics of President-elect Donald Trump.

“He’s been the subject of virtually every scrum… [and] round-table event.”

Click on the audio player above to hear the full conversation.

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