LEX Perhaps US auto dealers could consider a two-for-one sale. In spite of the highest incentives ever seen – about 20 per cent of average vehicles’ sticker prices, according to Edmunds.com – Americans bought cars at the slowest pace in decades. Just a month after the US suffered the ignominy of seeing annualised vehicle purchases slip below that of China, February sales were so abysmal that even relatively strong companies such as Toyota were asking for government help in providing consumer credit.
Detroit’s “big three” once again saw the sharpest drops, with General Motors down a worse-than-expected 53 per cent versus a year ago, Ford Motor down 48 per cent and Chrysler down 44 per cent. Even worse, demand was weakest for light trucks, which are more expensive and were once Detroit’s profit engine.
