DaimlerChrysler is offering steep incentives on its new Pacifica sport wagon in a move the company says reflects the motor industry’s growing dependence on discounts to sell cars, the Detroit News reported.
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The paper said that Chrysler this week began offering five-year, zero-percent financing and $US3,000 cash back on the Pacifica in an attempt to jump-start flat sales while customers who lease also will get a $3,000 price discount.
Autodata Corp. data shows Pacifica sales have totalled 33,352 since launch in March and Chrysler can build 100,000 annually, the Detroit News said.
“We realised that incentives are part of consumer expectations when buying a car,” Chrysler spokesman Kevin McCormick told the paper, adding: “We’re doing this to bring traffic into our showrooms.”
The Detroit News said Chrysler CEO Dieter Zetsche had hoped the Pacifica would help the company move away from incentives, which trim profits, but analysts said Pacifica’s $30,000 base price is scaring many would-be consumers away.
Consumer publications and websites criticised Chrysler for putting expensive high-specification versions into showrooms at launch time, rather than less costly base models with fewer pricey options.
“That vehicle had such a poor launch and poor marketing, even though it’s a good product, this is the only thing they could do to move these models between now and relaunching it,” Art Spinella, president of CNW Marketing/Research Inc. in Oregon, told the Detroit News.
The paper said dealers have mixed views of the new incentives because they lost a $2,000 bonus payment from Chrysler for each Pacifica sold to help pay for the latest deals.
