Jan 14, 2016 U.S. President Barack Obama, in his weekly address, recently praised U.S. car makers for strong industry results.
“We said the auto industry would have to truly change, not just pretend that it did. We got labor and management to settle their differences. We got the industry to retool and restructure. Everyone had some skin in the game.
“Our plan wasn’t popular. Critics said it was a ‘road to socialism’, or a ‘disaster’ waiting to happen. But I’d make that bet again any day of the week. Because today, the American auto industry is back. Since our plan went into effect, our automakers have added more than 640,000 new jobs.
“We’ve cut the Detroit-area unemployment rate by more than half. The Big Three automakers are raising wages. Seven years ago, auto sales hit a 27-year low. Last year, they hit an all-time high,”
According to Autodata Corp, low gasoline prices, easy credit and moderate economic growth boosted the industry. This led to a record sale of 17.47 million vehicles in 2015, breaking the previous record of 17.41 million vehicles in 2000.
“It’s not unlike what America overall has done these past seven years. Our businesses are now on a 70-month streak of job creation, with more than 14 million new jobs in all. We’ve revamped our schools and the way we pay for college. We’ve made historic investments in clean energy and put ourselves on a path to a low-carbon future.”