Moving on up! Chinese automakers move out of Cobo basement thanks to Detroit no-shows

Filed under: Detroit Auto Show, China

With the pull out of Porsche, Suzuki, Mitsubishi, Ferrari, Land Rover and Rolls-Royce, Nissan and Infiniti from this year's Detroit Auto Show in January, there's a lot of empty space on the show floor of Cobo Hall that needs to be filled. Chinese automakers will be the direct beneficiary of everyone's lack of interest in Detroit, as both BYD Auto and Brilliance will be moved out of the basement, otherwise known as Michigan Hall, and onto the main floor of Cobo for the first time. They'll be occupying the space formerly reserved for Mitsubishi and be positioned elbow-to-elbow with mainstream manufacturers that actually do sell cars in the U.S. While Chinese automakers have displayed at the Detroit Auto Show for the past few years, the closest they ever got to the main floor was the lobby when Geely was the first Chinese automaker to exhibit there back in 2006. At this rate, we expect Cobo Hall to be fully owned by the Chinese by the end of next year.

[Source: Automotive News, sub. req'd]

Moving on up! Chinese automakers move out of Cobo basement thanks to Detroit no-shows originally appeared on Autoblog on Tue, 25 Nov 2008 17:28:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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