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Edmunds.com Reports True Cost of Incentives

Domestic automakers paid 77 percent of April's $3.6 billion incentives bill but captured only 56 percent of April market share.

by Staff
May 4, 2005
2 min to read


Edmunds.com reported this week that the average manufacturer automotive incentive in the United States was $2,434 per vehicle sold in April 2005, up $67, or 2.8 percent, from April 2004, and down $121, or 4.7 percent, from March 2005. The industry's aggregate incentives spending bill totaled $3.6 billion in April. Domestic manufacturers spent $2.8 billion, or 77 percent, of the total cost; Japanese manufacturers spent $528 million, or 14 percent; European manufacturers spent $178 million, or 5 percent; and Korean manufacturers spent $128 million, or 4 percent. Overall, combined incentives spending for domestic Chrysler, Ford and General Motors nameplates averaged $3,339 per vehicle sold in April, down $133 from March 2005. Average domestic incentives have never been higher in any prior April. This month, Chrysler became the biggest spender by increasing incentives spending $28 to $3,535 per vehicle sold. At the same time, its market share increased by 0.2 percent, up to 13.8 percent. Ford decreased incentives spending by $78 to $2,986 per vehicle sold in April while its market share decreased by 0.6 percent to 17.3 percent. General Motors decreased incentives spending by $255 to $3,477 per vehicle sold while its market dropped by 1.4 percent to 25.0 percent. The combined market share of the Big Three reached an historic low of 56.1 percent in April 2005. Comparing brands’ incentives spending in April: Low: Mini - $14 Scion - $136 Porsche - $161 High: Lincoln - $5,284 Cadillac - $5,063 Jaguar - $4,113 As a percentage of MSRP: Pontiac, 15.4% Mini, 0.1% Porsche, .02%

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