"The industry is chaotic right now and every automaker is struggling to find something that works," stated Jesse Toprak, executive director of Industry Analysis for Edmunds.com. "Many of the bankrupt brands are drawing an impressive amount of attention from bargain-hunters, but the rest of the automakers have their work cut out for them."
As auto company sales reports poured in Tuesday, Edmunds.com estimated the average automotive manufacturer incentive in the U.S. was $2,946 per vehicle sold in May, down $111, or 3.6 percent, from April, and up $622, or 26.8 percent, from May 2008.
Combined incentives spending for domestic manufacturers averaged $3,766 per vehicle sold in May, down from $3,990 in April.
From April to May, Japanese automakers increased incentives spending by $171 to $1,907 per vehicle sold, setting a new record as a group. Individually, Honda and Nissan set new records for incentive spending.
Also from April to May, European automakers increased incentives spending by $214 to $3,823 per vehicle sold; ; and Korean automakers decreased incentives spending by $533 to $2,894 per vehicle sold.
Among vehicle segments, premium sport cars had the highest average incentives, $6,865 per vehicle sold, followed by large SUVs at $4,267. Subcompact cars had the lowest average incentives per vehicle sold, $1,096, followed by compact cars at $2,117.
Analysis of incentives expenditures as a percentage of average sticker price for each segment shows large cars averaged the highest, 13 percent, followed by large trucks at 12.4 percent of sticker price. Premium luxury cars averaged the lowest at 4.6 percent and subcompact cars followed at 6.9 percent of sticker price.
The large truck segment is a particularly interesting case. In a story entitled "Take My Pick-Up -- Please," Edmunds' AutoObserver.com Editor Bill Visnic recently reported, "The economic meltdown and $4 gasoline conspired to make 2008 a lousy year for large pickups, but the shriveled numbers for 2009 are making last year's sales look like a comparative bonanza."
Comparing all brands, in May Scion spent $225 followed by Mini at $582 per vehicle sold. At the other end of the spectrum, Mercedes-Benz spent the most, $6,069, followed by Hummer at $5,902 per vehicle sold.
Relative to their vehicle prices, Pontiac and Saturn spent the most, 16.7 percent and 15.5 percent of sticker price, respectively. General Motors is winding down the Pontiac brand by year-end. The future of Saturn remains unknown as GM negotiates with potential buyers about the brand.
In contrast and as has been typical, Toyota's Scion spent 1.3 and BMW's Mini spent 2.7 percent.
Edmunds.com's monthly True Cost of Incentives report takes into account all automakers' various U.S. incentives programs, including subvented interest rates and lease programs, as well as cash rebates to consumers and dealers. To ensure the greatest possible accuracy, Edmunds.com bases its calculations on sales volume, including the mix of vehicle makes and models for each month, as well as on the proportion of vehicles for which each type of incentive was used.
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| Automaker | May 2009 | April 2009 | May 2008 |
| Chrysler Group (Chrysler, Dodge, Jeep) | $4,159 | $4,383 | $3,630 |
| Ford (Ford, Lincoln, Mercury, Volvo) | $3,570 | $3,618 | $3,190 |
| General Motors (Buick, Cadillac, Chevrolet, | $3,783 | $4,107 | $3,309 |
| Honda (Acura, Honda) | $1,626* | $1,480 | $1,145 |
| Hyundai (Hyundai, Kia) | $2,894 | $3,427 | $1,973 |
| Nissan (Infiniti, Nissan) | $2,790* | $2,767 | $1,989 |
| Toyota (Lexus, Scion, Toyota) | $1,755 | $1,634 | $1,034 |
| Industry Average | $2,946 | $3,057 | $2,324 |
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