Feb U.S. auto incentives up 17 pct from JanEdmunds
DETROIT, March 3 (Reuters) - U.S. auto industry incentives
rose 17 percent in February from the prior month, raising
consumers‘ expectations that with softening vehicle demand,
more deals could be made, industry tracking service Edmunds.com
said on Monday.
The U.S. industry’s aggregate incentive spending is
estimated to have totaled about $2.95 billion, with U.S.
automakers General Motors Corp (GM.N: Quote, Profile, Research), Ford Motor Co (F.N: Quote, Profile, Research) and
Chrysler LLC [CBS.UL] accounting for almost 71 percent of the
total, Edmunds.com said.
Automakers are scheduled to release February sales results
on Monday and analysts expect to see double-digit declines due
to the slumping economy.
Edmunds.com analyst Jesse Toprak said incentives in recent
months have been boosted to levels seen before automakers
instituted “value pricing” strategies meant to cut sticker
prices and reduce the need for rebates.
“To combat this soft market, automakers are once again
putting remarkably generous dollar amounts on the hoods and
ironically re-establishing consumer expectations that they will
be offered dramatic deals,” he said in a statement. “It’s a car
buyer’s market, and that will likely be true for months to
come.”
Japanese automakers accounted for slightly less than 21
percent of the total, while companies from Europe and South
Korea accounted for 5.5 percent and and 3.2 percent,
respectively, according to Santa Monica, California-based
Edmunds.com.
On an average basis, U.S. incentives in February rose
almost 1 percent, or $22, from the prior month to $2,435 per
vehicle sold, according to Edmunds. The average was up 8.4
percent from a year ago.
The average for combined incentives spending by the U.S.
automakers was $3,393 per vehicle, up from $3,334 in January,
Edmunds.com said.
Chrysler had the highest average at $3,579, followed by GM
($3,315) and Ford ($3,297), according to Edmunds.com. Nissan
Motor Co Ltd (7201.T: Quote, Profile, Research) had the highest average among Japanese
automakers at $2,159, followed by Honda Motor Co Ltd (7267.T: Quote, Profile, Research)
($1,119) and Toyota Motor Corp (7203.T: Quote, Profile, Research) ($1,015). Continued…
