GM Renews Red Tag Incentives

Red tags will cover dealer lots, as General Motors Corp. launches more incentives for ’06 and ’07 vehicles.

The “Red Tag” offer will include up to $2,000 cash back on certain GM models, with the exception of luxury brands Cadillac, Hummer and Saab.

A GM spokesman says it will be up to dealers to decide how much cash back to apply per vehicle. But he declines to elaborate on the process.

Published reports say dealers will receive a $250 cash-back certificate from GM for every vehicle in stock, which they can apply to cars or trucks up to $2,000 limit. The cash back will be on top of current financing and other incentives.

The offer begins Nov. 17 and ends Jan. 2.

At the end of the third quarter, GM reported its U.S. dealer inventories were up by about 185,000 units from year-ago, when the auto maker had a dearth of new vehicles following the conclusion of an employee-discount-for-all sales-incentive program.

GM reports it expects vehicle inventory will reach 1 million units by year’s end.

The auto maker says it has lowered incentives but does not break down how much it spends per vehicle. However, Edmunds.com estimates GM averaged $2,497 per vehicle sold in October.

Edmonds.com also says the industry averaged $2,257 in incentives per vehicle sold in October, up $245, or 12%, from year-ago, but down 16% from September.

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