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Very Interesting - makes one think twice about paying MRSP.  As we predicted a couple of months ago.  

According to Edmunds.com, combined incentives spending for domestic manufacturers averaged $3,213 per vehicle sold in June 2008, down from $3,349 in May 2008.

Edmunds.com Reports True Cost of Incentives for June; Incentives Down From Last Year

Business Wire

SANTA MONICA, Calif.–(BUSINESS WIRE)–

Edmunds.com, the premier online resource for automotive information, estimated today that the average automotive manufacturer incentive in the U.S. was $2,356 per vehicle sold in June 2008, up $32, or 1.4 percent, from May 2008, and down $22, or 0.9 percent, from June 2007.

“General Motors and Toyota were the only two companies to have increased incentives this month from last year with Toyota incentives reaching a record high,” stated Jesse Toprak, Executive Director of Industry Analysis for Edmunds.com. “General Motors last minute 72-hour sales campaign helped increase their incentives spending for the month and Toyota needed some additional dollars to move their large SUVs and trucks from dealer lots.”

Edmunds.com’s monthly True Cost of Incentives(SM) (TCI(SM)) report takes into account all automakers’ various U.S. incentives programs, including subvented interest rates and lease programs, as well as cash rebates to consumers and dealers. To ensure the greatest possible accuracy, Edmunds.com bases its calculations on sales volume, including the mix of vehicle makes and models for each month, as well as on the proportion of vehicles for which each type of incentive was used.

According to Edmunds.com, combined incentives spending for domestic manufacturers averaged $3,213 per vehicle sold in June 2008, down from $3,349 in May 2008. From May 2008 to June 2008, European automakers increased incentives spending by $299 to $3,048 per vehicle sold; Japanese automakers increased incentives spending by $135 to $1,404 per vehicle sold; and Korean automakers decreased incentives spending by $22 to $1,951 per vehicle sold.

         True Cost of Incentives for the "Big Six" Automakers

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                Automaker                 June 2008 May 2008 June 2007

              Chrysler Group                $3,427    $3,630   $3,822

                   Ford                     $2,745    $3,190   $3,131

              General Motors                $3,454    $3,309   $2,891

                   Honda                    $1,367    $1,145   $1,412

                  Nissan                    $1,974    $1,989   $2,137

                  Toyota                    $1,186    $1,034    $988

In June 2008, the industry’s aggregate incentive spending is estimated to have totaled approximately $2.84 billion, down 12.3 percent from May 2008. Chrysler, Ford and General Motors spent an aggregate of $1.7 billion, or 60.3 percent of the total; Japanese manufacturers spent $712 million, or 25.0 percent; European manufacturers spent $278 million, or 9.8 percent; and Korean manufacturers spent $140 million, or 4.9 percent.

“More of the same this month with continued high levels of incentives being spent on large SUVs and trucks,” commented Edmunds’ AutoObserver.com Senior Editor Michelle Krebs. “We expect Chrysler and Ford will become more aggressive to decrease inventories of their current Dodge Ram and F-150 before they introduce their replacements.”

Among vehicle segments, large SUVs had the highest average incentives, $5,097 per vehicle sold, followed by large trucks at $4,329. Sport cars had the lowest average incentives per vehicle sold, $1,128, followed by compact cars at $1,168. Analysis of incentives expenditures as a percentage of average sticker price for each segment shows large SUVs averaged the highest, 13.5 percent, followed by large trucks at 13.3 percent of sticker price. Sport cars averaged the lowest, 3.9 percent, followed by luxury sport cars at 4.9 percent of sticker price.

Comparing all brands, in June MINI spent the least at $125 followed by Scion at $223 per vehicle sold. At the other end of the spectrum, Saab spent the most, $7,215, followed by Cadillac at $6,612 per vehicle sold. Relative to their vehicle prices, Saab and HUMMER spent the most, 20.6 percent and 15.2 percent of sticker price, respectively; while MINI spent 0.6 percent and Scion spent just 1.3 percent.