Sport utility vehicles, overtaking sedans as the new American family car, have been so hot that automakers raced to supply the market. With inventory now piling up, profit-sapping rebates are on the rise.
Incentives on SUVs rose $704 from a year earlier to $3,663 last month, according to J.D. Power dealer data obtained by Bloomberg. That average was up 24 percent, compared with the 13 percent rise for the total market, per the Power Information Network data, which isn’t released publicly.
The depth of discounting on the market’s most popular models signals automakers in the U.S. may be gasping for growth after seven years of expansion. It also reflects the downside of the industry building up inventory of the still-lucrative models as automakers rush to get in on the action.
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