General Motors chief executive Richard Wagoner has he expects major car makers to ease off on cut-throat price competition in the US market next year, as the economy there gains strength, Dow Jones reported.
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Wagoner reportedly told a symposium in Tokyo that sales volumes will start to pick up next year, allowing car makers to reduce some of the price incentives that they have been using to entice customers as the economy slumped over the last two years.
“There’s probably not going to be significant price increases, but we’ll see some mitigation of heavy incentive levels,” Wagoner said, according to Dow Jones, adding that he expects sales volumes in 2004 to also pick up somewhat as economic conditions improve.
He reportedly said the reasons he remained optimistic about the US market overall are the strong population growth and demand for cars that is being stimulated by the wide array of new models that manufacturers are offering.
Wagoner also cited the success of Nissan in turning itself around, saying it was due partly to “coming out with some very interesting designs,” Dow Jones said.
