General Motors expecting strong auto sales in 2016

General Motors' North American president Alan Batey has said that he is confident that new vehicle sales in the United States in 2016 can challenge the record-setting numbers set last year.

Batey told reporters that strong demand for pickup trucks in the second part of the year will fuel this, with traditionally more purchases of the vehicles coming in that period.

GM, Ford and Fiat Chrysler all rely heavily on pickup sales for their profits in North America.

Batey said that although the industry is expecting to steady at some point in the future, the near-term prospects are looking good.

"We think the industry will plateau at some time, but everything we see says that into the near future the industry will remain strong," he said.

The executive also mentioned the age of many current cars in the US is around 11-years-old, which indicates that a lot of drivers will have to replace their vehicles soon.