Car dealers offer discounts to counter ‘cash for clunkers’ lull
Published: 8 Oct, 2009 CET.
Updated: Thu 8 Oct 2009 17:20 CET
Grappling with the end of the popular “cash for clunkers” government stimulus programme, car dealerships in Germany are offering discounts of up to 42 percent on new vehicles, magazine Auto Motor und Sport reported on Thursday.
Auto sales dropped dramatically following the September 2 end to the Abwrackprämie, which offered Germans €2,500 to scrap their old cars and buy new models.
A comparison of 60 car model prices by Auto Motor und Sport found that car manufacturers were offering an average of 21 percent off. Opel dealers offered the highest discount of 42 percent for their old Astra model.
The most limited discounts were at Volkswagen, Subaru and Suzuki – the latter two of which had particularly good sales during the “cash for clunkers” scheme, the magazine reported.
Auto industry expert Ferdinand Dudenhöffer told news Magazine Der Spiegel that orders are significantly down.
“Early next year we will experience a price war in the German auto market,” he said.
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Auto sales dropped dramatically following the September 2 end to the Abwrackprämie, which offered Germans €2,500 to scrap their old cars and buy new models.
A comparison of 60 car model prices by Auto Motor und Sport found that car manufacturers were offering an average of 21 percent off. Opel dealers offered the highest discount of 42 percent for their old Astra model.
The most limited discounts were at Volkswagen, Subaru and Suzuki – the latter two of which had particularly good sales during the “cash for clunkers” scheme, the magazine reported.
Auto industry expert Ferdinand Dudenhöffer told news Magazine Der Spiegel that orders are significantly down.
“Early next year we will experience a price war in the German auto market,” he said.
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