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Boost it!

Toyota And Honda Increased Discounts In August To Maximize Clunker Impact

Agent009 submitted on 9/3/2009 Official Bell & Ross Timestamp: 1:31:28 PM

13 user comments | Category: Misc News | Source: | SOURCE: www.freep.com

Toyota and Honda might have been among the biggest winners from the monthlong cash-for-clunkers stimulus, but in order to close those sales, they spent more than twice as much in August as they did a year ago on cash-back rebates, discounted financing and other incentives.



Automakers do not publicly divulge how much they spend on incentives. But estimates from Autodata Corp. of Woodcliff Lake, N.J., show that government vouchers of up to $4,500 were not enough to close many deals.

 

 

Across the industry, automakers cut incentives on pickups, vans and SUVs and boosted them on passenger cars to attract cash-for-clunkers buyers. Industry spending on passenger car incentives jumped 31% in August, to an average of $2,265, compared with the same period a year ago, Autodata's estimates show.

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Toyota And Honda Increased Discounts In August To Maximize Clunker Impact

About the Author

Agent009

"If everything seems under control, you're just not going fast enough."

— Agent009 (View Profile)


User Comments

StarSearch

Sooooo lemme get this straight: car companies that have been hit particularly hard by a down economy spent extra money to entice potential customers during a prime opportunity to buy a car?

What next, Washington's Birthday Sale-O-Thons??!!

— StarSearch (View Profile)

Posted on 9/3/2009 4:11:54 PM | reply to this comment | Votes: 2   

America

It's great to see my tax dollars at work subsidizing the asian auto industry. Love, love, love that. The US govt could have spent a tiny fraction of that money installing tire inflation equipement in convenient locations around the counrty and telling people how to use them and we would be realizing the same fuel and polution gains. Now we have destroyed perfectly functional cars and trucks that Americans worked hard to build and at the same time wiped out the source of used parts that keep older cars running.


— America (View Profile)

Posted on 9/3/2009 8:18:26 PM | | Votes: -1   

Joe_Limon

I thought Toyota was giving up on number of sales. This seems like a screw profits gm is breathing down our neck kind of measure, short term gain that will cause long term pain.

— Joe_Limon (View Profile)

Posted on 9/3/2009 5:12:35 PM | reply to this comment | Votes: 1   

1UAW

Maybe so but as an auto company or any company exposure is everything. they both Toyota/Honda gained in the form free advertisment and how "well" they are selling also toyota would look bad if GM took the number one spot in sales this year which by the way is a close race.

— 1UAW (View Profile)

Posted on 9/3/2009 5:24:23 PM | reply to this comment | Votes: 3   

Invisible

I thought the #1 sales title is now between VW and Toyota.

— Invisible (View Profile)

Posted on 9/3/2009 5:28:19 PM | | Votes: 2   

Joe_Limon

VW is still a distant third. GM and Toyota keep going back and forth.

— Joe_Limon (View Profile)

Posted on 9/3/2009 10:53:05 PM | | Votes: 3   

Invisible

I've read several articles this year talking about the battle between Toyota and VW.

http://www.germancarblog.com/2009/04/volkswagen-close-to-overtake-toyota-as.html

— Invisible (View Profile)

Posted on 9/4/2009 9:04:16 AM | | Votes: 1   

huu76

Detroit Free Press, gee, no bias there. I wonder how GM and Chrysler's incentives were last month?

Increasing incentives to $2500 is nothing. Some automakers offer more than that when they release brand new models.

Ford got a free ride because people rewarded them for not asking for bailout money, so of course they didn't need to offer incentives, they were taking GM/Chrysler sales.

— huu76 (View Profile)

Posted on 9/3/2009 10:57:54 PM | reply to this comment | Votes: 3   

huu76

I wonder why agent 00nothing and the Detroit Free Press didn't feel it necessary to mention Hyundai matched the cash for clunkers dollar for dollar thanks to the Korean gov't? That comes out to an automatic discount of $4000 to $9000.

Either they're mezmerized by the Hyundai hype as well or they've only got it out for the Japanese.

— huu76 (View Profile)

Posted on 9/3/2009 11:00:48 PM | reply to this comment | Votes: 4   

Enforcement

Honda spent twice as much in August 2009 as August 2008. What did that figure work out to. Honda is typically by far the lowest spender on incentives, especially last August during $4.00 gas.

— Enforcement (View Profile)

Posted on 9/3/2009 11:09:25 PM | reply to this comment | Votes: 2   

Badgewhore

You all got fooled again, this is just another 009 trick backed by the GOP.

Last august(2008), the economy didn't tank yet, there was no need for incentives. Honda and Toyota never ever use incentives until the republicans destroyed the economy, their products were that good. Today, just about every auto manufacturer uses incentives, even the govt. got involved.

— Badgewhore (View Profile)

Posted on 9/4/2009 1:04:29 AM | reply to this comment | Votes: 3   

Invisible

I agree with you except the part about the Republicans.

It is the Democratic party that has controlled Capitol Hill since 2006. Remember, all laws and spending goes thru them, not the President that happened to be a Republican.

— Invisible (View Profile)

Posted on 9/4/2009 9:06:14 AM | | Votes: -2   

senorgato

This is a great finger-pointing article, with zero statistical data and zero factual support that are specific to Toyota and Honda.

— senorgato (View Profile)

Posted on 9/4/2009 1:39:25 PM | reply to this comment | Votes: 2   

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