---

Autofacts Reports Record-Setting Cash Incentives in August

4 September 1997

Autofacts Reports Record-Setting Cash Incentives in August

    DETROIT, Sept. 4 -- Cash discounting on passenger cars and
light trucks reached record levels in August, up 33 percent over the same
period last year, and seven percent from July, according to The Autofacts
Group, a division of Coopers & Lybrand Consulting.
    "As predicted, the summer of 1997 has been a very good time to purchase a
passenger car or light truck, unless one was shopping for a luxury European
vehicle or a sport utility vehicle of any size," said Suzanne Kinsler,
managing associate at Autofacts.  Cash deals offered by the Europeans were
down over 68 percent year over year, on average, in August.
    However, average Asian brand rebates matched those offered by the Big
Three in August, and were about 18 percent more generous than in 1996.  "This
level of increased discounting was characteristic of the Asian brands overall
this summer, although for deal-focused buyers it was a hit-or-miss
proposition," Kinsler said.  Some brands, such as Mazda, Nissan, and Hyundai,
offered more cash this August than last, while others offered less.
    Overall, the 1997 model year has been record-setting since November 1996.
Up to the start of this summer, average cash sales incentives posted records
for each month.  Then, June, July and August offered record average cash
rebates for any month since the Autofacts average cash incentive index series
started in January 1991.

    Other data shows:

    *  In general, discounts on domestic vehicles ran about $600 above those
       offered last year.

    *  Average cash promotions for this summer (June, July and August) were 30
       percent ahead of the summer of 1996, again due to bigger incentive
       spending by the domestic brands.

    *  Cars continued to offer better discounts this August than light trucks,
       by about $250 on average.  Larger cars and sports cars offered the
       biggest increases in discounts over the previous year in the car
       market, while full-size pickups and vans also received pumped-up deals
       compared to the previous year (when full-size pickups were selling with
       minimal rebates).  Sport utility vehicle buyers fared worse this August
       than last, in terms of available factory-sponsored deals.

    The Autofacts Group, a division of Coopers & Lybrand Consulting, is a
leading global automotive forecasting and planning company.  It provides
automotive databases and reports, forecasts, competitive analyses, strategic
planning, market research, and systems and management consulting.  Regional
coverage includes North America, South America, Western Europe, Eastern Europe
and Asia-Pacific.
    One of the world's leading professional service firms, Coopers & Lybrand
L.L.P. provides globally integrated services for enterprises in a wide range
of industries.  The firm offers its clients the expertise of more than 16,000
professionals and staff in offices in 100 U.S. cities, and through the member
firms of Coopers & Lybrand International, more than 74,000 people in 142
countries.

SOURCE  The Autofacts Group