GM, Chrysler Get Little Help From Incentives; Ford Rolls On

The magic of new-car incentives from Detroit auto makers failed to boost sales in August to the record levels of 1986, despite even lower interest rates initiated last month by the Big Three domestic auto manufacturers.

It was in the last part of August, 1986, that Ford, Chrysler and General Motors introduced 2.9% financing--and saw sales shoot to record levels. But this year, 1.9% rates on two-year loans failed to generate quite the same enthusiasm at Chrysler and General Motors, with combined sales down 13.1% for August.

Ford’s sales continued to boom, rising 12.8% a year ago. All three auto makers reported that sales in the last 10 days of August trailed those of the 1986 period.

“The effects of incentives are wearing off,” said David Healy, an auto analyst with Drexel Burnham Lambert. “It’s not as big of an incentive as it used to be.”

Overall, many of the imports showed strong sales increases. As a result, the total U.S. auto industry reported an overall increase of 1.4%. Sales of domestically produced cars dropped 2.9%, while sales of imports gained 11.9%.

In reporting its figures, Chrysler included sales for its newly acquired car lines from American Motors.

Successes in the import market include Toyota’s sales increase of 22.6%, Mazda’s gain of 23.0% and Hyundai’s 29.8% rise.

AUTO SALES

% August 1987 1986 change GM 345,098 377,440 -8.6 Ford 182,824 162,030 +12.8 Chrysler* 75,156 106,138 -29.2 Honda U.S. 29,741 21,201 +40.3 VW* 4,799 6,453 -25.6 Nissan**U.S. 12,856 49 -- Toyota**U.S. 3,500 -- -- DOMESTIC 653,974 673,311 -2.9 Toyota Imp. 61,451 50,138 +22.6 Nissan Imp. 33,747 47,807 -29.4 Honda Imp. 33,789 37.090 -8.9 Mazda 20,756 16,880 +23.0 Subaru 17,745 13,493 +31.5 VW Imp. 11,002 12,000 0-8.3 Volvo 9,964 10,091 -1.3 Hyundai 26,850 20,689 +29.8 Others*** 93,696 67,967 +37.9 IMPORTS* 309,000 276,155 +11.9 Total U.S. 962,974 949,466 +1.4

*Includes AMC **Little or no U.S. production in 1986 ***Estimate