Detroit Auto Show draws thousands to see cars on first day of public opening
Thousands of people viewed the latest models of cars, trucks and other vehicles during the 2025 Detroit Auto Show’s first day of public viewing.
Federal officials visited the 2026 Detroit Auto Show’s opening day to the public, toured cars and talked about how the auto industry has changed in the first year of President Donald Trump’s second term.
U.S. Trade Representative Jamison Greer said “significant progress toward affordability” has been made through regulatory cuts and a greater focus on auto manufacturing in the United States.
The average age of vehicles on U.S. roads is 13 years old, which is “far too old,” said Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy.
“If we have more affordable cars and more people can put new cars in their driveways, those cars will be safer,” Duffy said. “That’s what we want for American families, and that’s why this affordability push is so important.”
Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Lee Zeldin said high new car prices are because car companies feel they have to focus on electric vehicles. Officials said ending what Trump called the “EV mandate” — a reference to the Biden administration’s push to encourage companies to build more EVs to avoid greenhouse gas emissions — is one of the administration’s biggest steps to support the auto industry.
“Even if Americans don’t want it, when government policy dictates what kinds of cars manufacturers have to make, it comes at a cost,” Zeldin said. “When you have to hire workers, when you build factories, when you spend all of your time, energy, money, research and development to come up with a car that Americans don’t want to buy, prices go up.”
Supporters of government incentives for increased EV production argue that this is an important step toward reducing greenhouse gas emissions that cause climate change.
President Trump announced in December that he would rescind the Biden administration’s Corporate Average Fuel Economy (CAFE) standards for cars and trucks, USA TODAY reported. The standard required automakers to increase the miles per gallon of new cars and encouraged the production of electric vehicles.
“Their decisions regarding the CAFE standards have the significance of benefiting the U.S. market and U.S. consumers by making it practical and practical to apply common sense,” Zeldin said.
In early 2025, President Trump signed legislation eliminating fuel economy penalties for automakers.
Mr. Zeldin also cited the Environmental Protection Agency’s move to eliminate credits that automakers received for installing start-stop features that automatically shut off the engine when the car is idling as pushing up affordability.
Before heading to Detroit, officials stopped at a manufacturing plant in Ohio and also made an appearance at this week’s Toledo auto show.
Ford CEO Jim Farley also appeared at the Detroit Auto Show on Saturday and met with federal officials.
Officials toured the cars behind display cases and walked around the show floor as thousands of people checked out hundreds of cars and interacted on the show floor.
The 2026 Detroit Auto Show is open to the public through January 25th. Information on how to purchase tickets can be found at detroitautoshow.com.
Contact Natalie Davies at ndavies@freepress.com.
