Ford raises incentive offers again

DETROIT, Oct 4 Reuters reported that Ford Motor Co. raised its incentive offers and cash rebates for the second time in less than a week on Friday, as it struggled to keep pace with General Motors Corp. in Detroit's escalating price war.

Ford had announced new incentives on its 2003 models just last Tuesday, offering an array "cashback" deals and interest-free loans for up to three years on many of its cars, minivans, sport utility vehicles and pickup.

But the deals were somewhat less generous than those introduced hours later by GM, which said it would offer interest-free loans of up to five years on most new 2003 passenger cars and minivans, forcing Ford to raise the ante as quickly as possible.

Apart from increasing cash rebates by about $500 on some models, including its best-selling F-Series pickups, the revamped incentives package Ford rolled out on Friday included zero-percent, five-year loans on the 2003 model Ford Windstar minivan and 2002 models of the popular Focus compact car.

Ford is also offering a rebate of up to $7,000 on 2002 models of the Continental luxury sedan from its Lincoln Mercury division, or zero percent loans of up to five years toward purchases of the car.

Ford Chairman and Chief Executive Bill Ford Jr. has acknowledged that the incentives war has been costly for the world's No. 2 automaker, which is still seeking to recover from last year's loss of $5.45 billion.

But GM, the world's No. 1 automaker, has said it has the wherewithal to keep the incentives going and use them, along with its lineup of newer models, to steal market share from Ford and the Chrysler side of DaimlerChrysler AG .

Chrysler raised it own incentive program on Thursday.

Industry analysts, many of whom liken Detroit's incentives strategy to a fire sale, estimate that zero percent loan deals cost the Big Three U.S. automakers upwards of $3,000 per vehicle.