In the midst of the possible bankruptcy of as many as two of the Detroit 3, all three domestic automakers must keep their eye on the ultimate target: selling vehicles. So, it was good to see Chrysler find time to come up some new incentives to move cars in May.
In the midst of their Chapter 11 filing for bankruptcy, the company extended its major incentive programs through Monday May 4.
Nice to see its business as usual.
Those programs include Chrysler's much advertised Employee Pricing Plus program, which gives customers the same price employees pay, plus existing incentives and low-rate financing.
As part of the incentive announcement, Chrysler extended its low APR financing rates, including 0%, for up to 48 months.
This extension should give dealers the tools they need to weather the current turmoil. The company plans to announce full month of May on Thursday, May 5.
Chrysler did not extend its April Bonus Bucks and regional stair-step programs.
Those expire on April 30. Under those programs, Chrysler gives dealers a wholesale incentive of up to $1,000 a vehicle for each vehicle they order if they hit a factory target.
The May incentive will follow Friday's report of April sales results. Through March, Chrysler posted a 44.4% decline in U.S. sales, while the industry fell 38.4% in its weakest performance in 27 years.
Analysts see April sales coming in at a SAAR of 10 million units, a 30.8% decrease from April 2008, and a 0.5% increase from March 2009.
+ April 2009 Auto Sales: Declines,Chrysler:48%,Toyota:42%,GM:35%,Ford:32%
+ April 2009 Auto Sales: U.S. Fall 34%,GM Improves,Toyota Slips as Industry Decline Eases
+ Incentives of Chryser,Ford,GM,Hyundai,Mercedes or Dealers,Government You May Consider
Chrysler will sell 89,000 vehicles in April, down 39.2% compared to April 2008 and down 11.1% from March 2009.
This would result in a new car market share of 10.4% for Chrysler, down from 11.8% in April 2008 and down from 11.8% in March 2009.
