Data Point
Incentive Program Volume Trending Toward Record Year
Tuesday September 3, 2019
Article Highlights
- The number of incentives programs in August came in ahead of year-ago levels.
- The high level of incentives is mostly a result of automakers being smarter with their incentive programs, offering incentive deals at the VIN level, on older inventory and at the geographic levels.
- In total, there were 2,161 unique programs available across the U.S. in August 2019.
Our team continues to track an elevated number of incentives programs this year, a trend we saw again in August as volume came in ahead of year-ago levels. With inventory up and sales slowing, the higher raw number of programs we’ve followed each month in 2019 is mostly a result of automakers being smarter with their incentive programs, offering incentive deals at the VIN level, on older inventory and at the geographic levels. With numerous Labor Day weekend specials launched last week – some in excess of $11,000 in guaranteed consumer cash – the August year-over-year increase is hardly surprising.
Source: Cox Automotive Rates & Incentives
Incentive program volume in September will be particularly important to watch as Labor Day weekend – a big weekend for clearing inventory – was part of the September sales result in 2018, not August as we had this year. Still, with many key economic indicators slowing, 2019 is on track to be a record year in terms of incentive program volume.
Note: Chart shows total volume of unique incentive programs, across all makers. This number does not indicate value of the programs, only volume. In total, there were 2,161 unique programs available across the U.S. in August 2019, down significantly from last month but ahead of August 2018.
For more information about Cox Automotive Rates & Incentives, visit the Cox Automotive Rates & Incentives (CAR&I) team page.