Focus on older drivers, Chrysler design exec tells engineers

Focus on older drivers, Chrysler design exec tells engineers

Automakers should stop trying to cater to millennials, Chrysler product design chief Ralph Gilles said at the Society of Automotive Engineers Convergence Conference in Detroit last week. Young people simply donêt have the money to buy cars right now. Most money is in the hands of baby boomers, age 60 and older and thatês where the auto industry should focus, said Gilles, reports the Detroit Free Press.

The proportion of older Americans with driverês licenses will keep rising in the next 15 years, and those drivers want to keep driving as long as they can. Technology, such as lane departure warnings and rear view cameras, can help.

By 2030, nearly one-fourth of Americans with driverês licenses will be older than 65, Gilles said, according to the Federal Highway Administration.