Automakers have begun to announce their April sales incentives. Today’s news is dominated by reports of double-digit declines in auto sales last month, so we can expect to see more incentive announcements in the coming days as manufacturers scramble to build consumer interest in new cars in the middle of a declining economy with record gas prices.
Kicking Tires reports, “GM’s the first to post” new incentive offers, “and thus far the deals are slightly underwhelming.” They include $1,500 cash back on Impala sedans, $2,000 cash back offers on Avalanche SUVs, and “between $1,500 and $3,250 cash back on its various Silverado trucks.”
Reuters reports that Chrysler will continue to offer 0% financing for five years on 2008 models and six years on 2007 models. Autoblog comments, “Chrysler posted a 13.2% decline in its Daily Sales Rate last month while offering 0% financing, so the Auburn Hills-based automaker has little choice but to continue offering free loans in an effort to stop the bleeding.” The company “is also dealing with folks with less than perfect credit, which is a risky move with credit restrictions so tight right now.”
None of it may help. The U.K.’s Guardian reports, “Automakers raised sales incentives by 4 percent to an average of $2,519 in March from a year earlier, according to industry tracking service Edmunds.com.” Yet March sales were dismal. “Full-size pickup trucks carried the highest average incentives at $4,368, followed by large SUVs at $4,094.” Despite the deals, sales of both categories of vehicle crashed that month. “Chrysler, GM and Ford were the top spenders on incentives, in that order,” the Guardian notes…and yet all three saw sales drops of more than 10%.
The Chicago Tribune comments that automakers may be gun-shy on offering big discounts because, in the past, “such incentives gave a short-term lift to sales but became habit-forming as consumers sat back and waited for the next big deal.”
Check back with us over the next few days, however. We expect to have more offers to announce.
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