The average automotive manufacturer incentive in the US was $US2,510 per vehicle sold in March 2006, up $162, or 7%, from February 2006, and down $46, or nearly 2%, from March 2005, according to Edmunds.com.
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The industry’s aggregate incentive spending is estimated at about $3.8bn in March, up from nearly $3.0bn in February. Chrysler, Ford and General Motors spent an aggregate of $2.73bn, or 71% of the total; Japanese manufacturers spent $688m, or 18%; European manufacturers spent $283m, or 7%; and Korean manufacturers spent $129m, or 3%.
According to Edmunds.com, combined incentives spending for domestic manufacturers averaged $3,205 per vehicle sold in March, up from $3,001 in February 2006. Chrysler’s incentives spending was up $234 to $4,005 per vehicle sold; Ford’s incentives spending was up $432 to $3,261 per vehicle sold; and General Motors increased its incentives by $53 to $2,691 per vehicle sold.
“Average European and Japanese incentives have never been higher,” said Edmunds’ data analysis head Jane Liu. “BMW, Nissan and Toyota are all at record levels – $3,483, $2,314 and $1,321 per vehicle sold, respectively – and a number of other brands are also helping to pull up these averages.”
From February to March, European automakers increased incentives spending by $185 to an average of $2,919 per vehicle sold; Japanese automakers increased incentives spending by $142 to $1,347 per vehicle sold; and Korean automakers increased incentives spending by $24 to an average of $1,972 per vehicle sold.
Comparing all brands, in March Scion spent the least, $73, followed by Honda at $515 per vehicle sold. At the other end of the spectrum, Jaguar spent the most, $8,187, followed by Lincoln at $6,546 per vehicle sold. Relative to their vehicle prices, Jeep and Mercury spent the most, 15.3% and 15.2% of sticker price, respectively, while Scion and Porsche spent the least at 0.4% and 0.9%, respectively.
Among vehicle segments, large SUVs continued to have the highest average incentives, $5,001 per vehicle sold, followed by large trucks at $3,766. Sport cars had the lowest average incentives per vehicle sold, $1,012, followed by compact cars at $1,048.
Analysis of incentives expenditures as a percentage of average sticker price for each segment shows large SUVs averaged the highest, 11.7%, followed by compact SUVs at 11.4% of sticker price. Sports cars averaged the lowest, 3.2%, followed by luxury SUVs at 5.5% of sticker price.
