Average U.S. sales incentives on autos fall

DETROIT (Reuters) -- The average sales incentive on autos sold in the United States in January dropped 6 percent from a year earlier, a Web site that tracks auto industry sales trends said today.

Web site Edmunds.com said the average manufacturer incentive on autos sold in the U.S. market was $2,276 per vehicle, down $149, or 6 percent, from a year earlier.

Sales incentives are widely tracked as an indication of the relative profitability of various automakers and the pressure that they face to move inventory.

General Motors recorded a 17 percent drop in incentives compared with a year earlier, the largest decline among major automakers, Edmunds said.

GM's average incentive spending was $2,365, down from $2,838 a year earlier, Edmunds said.

DaimlerChrysler AG led the industry with average spending per vehicle of $3,853 in January, down 8 percent from $4,191 a year earlier, it said.

Ford Motor Co.'s reported incentives rose 24 percent to $3,502 in January from $2,826 a year earlier.

Edmunds estimated that industry-wide incentives cost $2.6 billion in January, with the Detroit 3 accounting for $1.8 billion, or almost 70 percent of the total.