General Motors said on Monday that, in an attempt to boost sales, it would waive up to six months of lease payments on most GM models if the owners buy or lease a new vehicle, according to Reuters.
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GM will nullify lease payments on contracts that expire between July 1 and January 2, 2004, if the owners buy or lease any new GM vehicle except a Saab, Hummer or medium-duty truck, GM spokeswoman Elaine Redd told the news agency.
Reuters noted that, last week, John Smith, GM’s head of North American vehicle sales, service and marketing, warned that May US vehicle sales so far appear to be a bit weaker than April’s levels which alarmed Wall Street analysts expecting stronger results this month.
Reuters said that GM added other incentives last week, offering six-year loans at a rate of 1.9% on most passenger vehicles except Cadillacs, Hummers and Chevrolet Corvette sports cars.
For the first four months of the year, GM’s sales are down about 10% from last year’s levels, Reuters said, adding that GM executives have admitted that its incentives, which helped drive consecutive annual US market share gains, have not been as effective in recent months.
“Everybody’s pulling out the toolbox,” GM’s Redd told the news agency. “Our goal is to do what we can to increase the size of the industry.”
