RTR: Automakers rev up discounts to beat coronavirus sales blues

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REUTERS reports:

In the midst of a raging pandemic, Belal Bilto, 26, a sales executive and a Manhattan resident bought a midsize pickup Jeep Gladiator this month for just over $48,000, lured by a discount of about $5,000 on the list price and a seven-year, no-interest loan.

For Bilto, who was laid off in March, and his fiancé Sabrina Moller, 28, a private chef, a car seemed a safer option to travel around during the virus outbreak. Most importantly the couple bought the truck to support a new boutique mobile catering venture.

“We went specifically for the Gladiator because the model was (being offered at) employee pricing and we also got free service after 1,000 miles and a free repair offer for a serious accident,” Bilto told Reuters.

U.S. automakers are scheduled to report June and second-quarter car and light truck sales on Wednesday. Analysts are forecasting June sales will fall by 25% from a year earlier. That’s an improvement from the declines in April and May, reflecting a slow recovery in retail demand hit by coronavirus shutdowns.

The second-quarter numbers reflect a peak for the U.S. auto industry’s efforts to use consumer discounts, low interest loans and other incentives to prop up demand during the pandemic.

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