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GM to offer no down payment - Most vehicles qualify for latest salvo in incentives war
DETROIT, Oct. 10 ? Firing another shot in the U.S. auto industry?s price war, General Motors Corp. said Thursday it will allow consumers to buy most GM vehicles with no down payment and no payments at all for 90 days.
?WE JUST THINK it?s time to break out and do something different,? Kurt Ritter, general manager of GM?s Chevrolet division, told Reuters outside a GM dealer meeting.
The deals announced on Thursday include all 2002 and most 2003 model vehicles excluding GM?s Saab and Hummer brands.
GM, the world?s largest automaker, has used aggressive incentives, mainly interest-free loans and cash rebates, to keep U.S. consumers buying new cars and trucks. But GM was one of a few automakers to report a sales decline for September, saying low inventories of some models was partly to blame.
No. 2 automaker Ford Motor Co. did not immediately return calls seeking comment about whether it would match GM?s latest incentives.
Ford, which has often matched GM?s moves blow-for-blow, last month offered a three-month payment deferral plan on its 2002 models. Such plans are common among furniture and home electronics stores but have been rarely used in the auto industry until now.
In a market where incentives have been averaging $3,000 per vehicle, some data suggest GM?s offers may not be all that costly. Morgan Stanley analyst Stephen Girsky said in a research note earlier this week that the average cash payment for a new car deal had fallen to $1,013 in August, compared with $1,800 a year ago.
GM officials said in addition to the payment plan, GM would also continue offers of zero-percent loans with terms up to five years on most 2002 models, and would offer a narrower range of zero percent loans on 2003 models.
Advertising for the new deals was scheduled to appear Friday.
DETROIT, Oct. 10 ? Firing another shot in the U.S. auto industry?s price war, General Motors Corp. said Thursday it will allow consumers to buy most GM vehicles with no down payment and no payments at all for 90 days.
?WE JUST THINK it?s time to break out and do something different,? Kurt Ritter, general manager of GM?s Chevrolet division, told Reuters outside a GM dealer meeting.
The deals announced on Thursday include all 2002 and most 2003 model vehicles excluding GM?s Saab and Hummer brands.
GM, the world?s largest automaker, has used aggressive incentives, mainly interest-free loans and cash rebates, to keep U.S. consumers buying new cars and trucks. But GM was one of a few automakers to report a sales decline for September, saying low inventories of some models was partly to blame.
No. 2 automaker Ford Motor Co. did not immediately return calls seeking comment about whether it would match GM?s latest incentives.
Ford, which has often matched GM?s moves blow-for-blow, last month offered a three-month payment deferral plan on its 2002 models. Such plans are common among furniture and home electronics stores but have been rarely used in the auto industry until now.
In a market where incentives have been averaging $3,000 per vehicle, some data suggest GM?s offers may not be all that costly. Morgan Stanley analyst Stephen Girsky said in a research note earlier this week that the average cash payment for a new car deal had fallen to $1,013 in August, compared with $1,800 a year ago.
GM officials said in addition to the payment plan, GM would also continue offers of zero-percent loans with terms up to five years on most 2002 models, and would offer a narrower range of zero percent loans on 2003 models.
Advertising for the new deals was scheduled to appear Friday.