Chrysler Group president and CEO Dieter Zetsche would like to reduce incentives offered on new vehicles customers, but thinks his rivals may not allow the company to do so, according to an Associated Press (AP) report.
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“We certainly think it would make sense to get a little bit more modest with incentives but we will see,” Zetsche told AP.
“But of course we are affected by competition as well and therefore it depends on all three of us and other players to see how incentives will further develop.”
AP said that Zetsche spoke on the eve of the New York motor show, the same day that Ford’s chief financial officer Martin Inglis backpedalled on chairman and CEO Bill Ford’s comments last week that his company would match General Motors’ incentives dollar for dollar.
According to AP, Inglis said that Ford was ” focusing now on getting a more disciplined approach back into our incentives.”.
GM began the latest incentives war with a zero interest finance programme called Keep America Rolling soon after the September 11 terrorist attacks in the eastern US, forcing its Big Three rivals, in particular, to follow suit.
AP said that Zetsche has expressed his dislike of the costly incentives several times since then, preferring to lure buyers with Chrysler’s seven-year, 100,000-mile powertrain warranty.
