General Motors on Thursday said it was halting production at a commercial truck plant for eight weeks due to flagging demand, cutting two weeks of Saturn L-series production and raising incentives on other vehicles to boost sales, Reuters reported.
Despite those production cuts, GM still expects its total vehicle production in North America in the first quarter to grow to 1.43 million vehicles, up more than 5% from 1.353 million a year ago, Reuters said.
Reuters noted that several GM plants will work overtime next week, including the Arlington, Texas, and Fort Wayne, Indiana, full-size pickup truck plants.
GM has raised cash rebates on its Chevrolet Silverado, GMC Sierra and Chevrolet Avalanche full-size pickups to $2,500, an increase of $500, Reuters said, noting that DaimlerChrysler’s Dodge Ram pickup achieved strong sales last year at the expense of GM and Ford rival models.
Reuters said that GM is also now offering dealers up to $1,000 on every car or truck that has gone unsold for more than 120 days, an offer that covers a small number of vehicles which must be sold by the end of the month.
