The Twin Cities Auto Show, Minnesota’s largest annual trade show, announced plans for a first-of-its-kind, annual National Truck Summit. The Summit takes place on Friday, March 6, prior to the opening of the annual Twin Cities Auto Show at the Minneapolis Convention Center.
Minnesota leads the nation in truck sales, making it a perfect place to hold the event. Each year, the Twin Cities Auto Show serves as a gateway for light truck and SUV sales in the Upper Midwest. The Minnesota light truck/SUV market is over 82% of all vehicles sold, while national sales are just 69% of all vehicles sold. Crossovers, SUVs, and light trucks dominate US vehicle sales to where companies like Ford are phasing out sedans. Light truck retail sales in the US in 2019 increased to 12.2 million units, the highest level on record.
WHAT’S IN STORE
The National Truck Summit features industry leaders from a variety of truck manufacturers. The panel features Jay Sackett from Toyota, Tim Stoehr, Ford North America product line manager for trucks, and Matt Weiss from JATO Dynamics.
Matt Weiss from JATO Dynamics will be at the summit to share information and lead a panel discussion about everything from the potential for Amazon to enter the vehicle marketplace to people, companies like Tesla creating new brands to sell light trucks, to the impact driverless and electrified vehicle development could have on light trucks and its thriving marketplace.
“An event of this type is long overdue,” Weiss says. “Light trucks and SUVs are becoming looked upon as luxury vehicles for the amenities they have.”
“The truck market doesn’t have one particular niche,” he adds. “These evolving vehicles are being sold to people from all walks of life. To have an opportunity to showcase all of the things trucks and SUVs are capable of now and in the future is important to further raise awareness of this key part of our economy.”
Sackett is an executive program manager at the Toyota Technical Center. He has more than 25 years of experience with Toyota in several roles including vehicle performance development.
“This purpose of this event is to show the capabilities of today’s trucks and to show how future trends will continue to keep these relevant in the marketplace,” Weiss says. “Having this event in a hotbed for truck sales is very fitting, and I look forward to being at this event prior to the Auto Show.”
NATIONAL TRUCK SUMMIT AT-A-GLANCE
What: National Truck Summit
Who: Jay Sackett, Toyota; Tim Stoehr, Ford North America product line manager for trucks; Matt Weiss, JATO Dynamics
When: Friday March 6, 2020.
Where: Ballroom of the Minneapolis Convention Center
Why: Go to www.nationaltrucksummit.com
Promotional Partner: Automotive News
