GM Design Boss Says Sedans Could Make A Comeback

General Motors design chief Michael Simcoe has suggested that sedans could make a comeback down the road.

In recent years, consumer preferences, particularly in the United States, have shifted and buyers are now demanding more crossovers, SUVs, and trucks that ever before. With this change in consumer sentiment, the sedan has started to slowly die out.

Speaking with GM Authority at the recent SEMA Show in Las Vegas, Simcoe acknowledged that “SUVs are king” in the North America but confusion over what defines an SUV, a CUV, and a crossover could see a switch back to sedans.

Also Read: Ford’s US Sales Dip 3.5 Percent Despite Record SUV Deliveries

“I think what you’re seeing is a shift to SUV cues or more formal SUV cues being applied to lower seating positions in vehicles…” he said. “The trouble is, the market is mixing both appearance and content so hard these days, it’s very hard to tell what is a true SUV, versus what is a CUV or generally a crossover vehicle. When hatches and sedans stopped selling, CUVs took their place but I think there will be a cycle [back to sedans] in the industry. And again, then we go back to electrification, which will make people think differently,” he said.

Evidently, GM’s design boss does not share the same disregard for sedans that Ford does following its controversial decision to kill off its traditional car models (excluding the Mustang) a little while back.

According to Simcoe, consumers want to own vehicles that other people will notice.

“They want to park something in their driveway that their neighbors admire. So the reason for purchase is the same as it’s always been. I think we’ll cycle back down to lower vehicles and essentially everything will be on the road.”