How Much of a Gimmick?
Ford has reported on their July sales pace.
Cash for Clunkers boost Ford’s July sales 1.6 pct — That’s a year over year figure for the month of July.
Ford U.S. July Sales Rise 2.3% on Clunkers Program — That’s the monthly rate vs. June.
Cash for Clunkers drives Ford to monthly sales jump — That’s a third headline because I already opened the tab in my browser.
Looking at the whole year, it looks like Ford will sell 20% fewer vehicles this year than last year. However, that depends a lot on the Cash for Clunkers program. Remember, some people are buying cars because they qualify for a 10% to 20% incentive paid for by everyone else. Other people are buying cars because they were curious about the program, didn’t qualify, but were convinced to buy anyway.
Remember that Hyundai had a gimmick in January. People who lost their jobs could simply return their cars with no credit penalty. Hyundai sales increased 14% while Ford sales fell 40% year over year. That gimmick didn’t cost the taxpayers a billion dollars.
If I remember correctly, Ford never took any government money. Only GM and Chrysler did.
