Friday, January 29, 2010
GM offers $1,000 incentive to Toyota owners
This article is interesting because it deals with "conquest incentives"(material incentives)- which in this case means GM offering incentives to Toyota owners to buy GM vehicles. GM is attempting to capitalize on the recent Toyota recall of over 2.3 million vehicles by offering $1,000 rebates and/or current lease payments for Toyota owners, as well as 0% financing for GM 2009-10 models. Toyota had to recall their cars because of problems with the gas pedals, a similar problem that they dealt with in which they recalled 4.2 million vehicles last September. It is a good business plan for GM to take advantage of the mistakes in production that Toyota has made.
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5 comments:
This is exactly what American automakers such as Ford and especially GM needed to gain market share, especially with their already strong vehicle lineup such as the article says the all new Mailbu and Equinox. In addition to Toyota, Honda is now on the recall wagon with over 433,000 vehicles being recalled for a faulty window switch.
I agree with Phil. GM is capitalizing on a rare opportunity in today's market. Toyota has not yet failed, but GM will manage to capture at least part of its consumer base with a program like this one. Hopefully this will allow one of America's largest companies to keep more jobs and make more of a profit in 2010.
I agree with Phil and Elizabeth that this is what American automakers needed. The government can only bailout a company for so long. With the possibility of sales, GM might be able to buy back some of the ownership from the government. Only time will tell if sales can improve. The recalls have definitely hurt Toyota's image and helped American companies. Besides the material incentives, dealers can make an appeal of moral incentives. Dealers could appeal to people's nationalism that to buy American is to buy a trustworthy product.
I agree that the Detroit automakers needed this but this is the type of aggressive model they needed all along, even before their bankruptcy. It is a great idea to capitalize on the Toyota recall and I'm sure GM CEO Ed Whitacre is enjoying this attack on Toyota. Honestly, I would much rather buy an Equinox over the Rav4, hopefull other car consumers will be convinced as well.
Very shrewd move by GM to capitalize on Toyota's recent failures however I do not believe that this move will pay off as much as expected. Very good incentives however considering current consumer confidence, I don't think Toyota owners will opt to buy a new car just because they are waiting for their Toyota to return from the shop. Good move however may not be supported by the economy.
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