March Incentives Up With Japanese and European Automakers at Record Levels

Washington DC April 4, 2006; The AIADA newsletter reported that the average incentive for manufacturers was up 7 percent from February and down 2 percent from March 2005, according to a study by Edmunds.com.

Aggregate incentive spending in the industry was estimated at approximately $3.8 billion in March, up from almost $3 billion in February. According to Auto Remarketing, "Japanese manufacturers spent $688 million (18 percent); European manufacturers spent $283 million (7 percent); and Korean manufacturers spent $129 million (3 percent). Jane Liu, VP of Data Analysis for Edmunds.com, said average European and Japanese incentives have never been higher.

"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."