GM to Offer 7.7% Loans on Most Cars : Ford and Chrysler Expected to Follow; Big Inventories Cited

General Motors said Thursday that it will offer 7.7% discount financing on a wide range of 1985 model car and truck lines until early October in an effort to clean out heavy inventories of unsold cars that piled up during a strike by the nation’s car haulers.

But analysts said they doubt that the cut-rate loans, which cover cars and trucks that account for two-thirds of GM’s vehicle sales, will be enough to reverse the long-term erosion of GM’s market share by Japanese auto makers.

The analysts predicted that GM--as well as Ford and Chrysler--will be forced to continue promotional campaigns beyond October and well into the 1986 model year.

‘More Incentives’

“With the Japanese taking more and more of the market, we will see more incentives from all of the domestic manufacturers later this year,” said Ted Sullivan, an analyst with Data Resources in Lexington, Mass.

“We think that GM, Ford and Chrysler will all have incentives, especially on small cars, in the fourth quarter,” he said.

The discount financing offer was announced the day after a tentative settlement was reached in the three-week car-haulers’ strike, which has virtually stopped the flow of new cars to the nation’s domestic and imported car dealerships.

On Wednesday, GM reported a 10% decline in sales during the first 10 days of August compared to a year ago.

Ford and Chrysler are expected to copy GM by announcing similar incentives within the next few days.

Studying GM’s Program

A spokesman at Ford, which isn’t currently offering any sales promotions, said the company is studying GM’s program, but he refused to say whether Ford will match it. A spokesman for Chrysler, which is already offering 8.8% financing or cash rebates on its compact and sporty mid-size models, refused to comment on whether the auto maker would follow GM’s lead.

Officials at American Motors, which now has 8.5% discount financing on all of its 1985 model Renault passenger cars, said they have no plans to offer even lower rates to match GM.

The Japanese importers, which already have low inventories and a great deal of unmet demand for their cars, are not expected to offer incentives.

GM’s program, which began Thursday and expires Oct. 2, covers 1985 models that account for 70% of its passenger-car volume, GM said. But it excludes such popular models as the small cars that it receives from Japan and GM’s California venture with Toyota.