General Motors Corp., the world's biggest automaker, said Tuesday that it will lower the prices on 57 of its 76 models in North America in an effort to boost its sliding market share and wean buyers off expensive incentives.
Mark LaNeve, GM's vice president of sales and marketing, told reporters that the program will lower the manufacturer's suggested retail price by as much as $2,500 (euro2,072) on some vehicles, but the average decrease will be $1,300 (euro1,077).
"We want it to be crystal clear that with or without incentives you're getting a great price," said LaNeve, who planned to announce the deal later Tuesday at the North American International Auto Show.
GM will lower prices on all Chevrolet, Buick and GMC vehicles and most Pontiac vehicles starting Wednesday, LaNeve said. Saab, Saturn and Hummer will be excluded because GM feels they are already priced appropriately, he said.
LaNeve said GM believes it will make money despite the markdowns because it has new products coming to market, and it will be spending less per vehicle on incentives, which have sometimes topped $4,000 (euro3,316) per vehicle.
"Bottom line, we think this is the right thing to do for our business," LaNeve said. GM's sales dropped 5 percent in 2005 despite popular employee-pricing discounts last summer.