General Motors Corp. announced a “March Madness” sale Thursday, a new U.S. incentive program that includes an extra $1,000 cash rebate on most vehicles that have been in inventory for about 125 days or more, and $1,500 on most Cadillacs.
GM’s U.S. sales so far this year have fallen more than 6 percent, and the automaker has scaled back production, as highlighted by last week’s news that it would lay off 3,000 workers at a Michigan plant and end production there.
Cadillac sales have also slowed slightly this year. Earlier this month, GM temporarily cut production at a Michigan plant that builds several Cadillac models.
GM said dealers will display red tags on vehicles with the prices marked clearly, similarly to GM’s successful “Red Tag” sale in December, a GM spokeswoman said.
The “March Madness” sale, which can be combined with most other sales incentives, is GM’s first national incentive program since the automaker named a new head of North American sales and marketing last week.
GM, the world’s largest automaker, has been the most aggressive player in Detroit’s profit-punishing incentives war for years now.
Several dealers, who told Reuters about the latest GM incentives on Tuesday, said they will help them move slower-selling vehicles off the lot.
GM will offer a cash rebate of just $500 on three vehicles -- the Chevrolet Equinox sport utility vehicle, the Chevrolet Aveo compact car and the Pontiac Vibe wagon. Other vehicles, such as the Chevrolet Corvette sports car, may be excluded from the program as there might not be any in inventory for 125 days or more.
