DETROIT – General Motors Corp. (GM) plans to end next week its highly successful discount program that allowed customers to buy GM vehicles at the price employees pay, a company spokeswoman said Wednesday. The deal fueled a huge surge in GM sales in June and rivals Ford and Chrysler offered similar plans this month.
The program has been in place since June 1. It was originally scheduled to end July 5 but the company extended it until Monday, and some analysts and dealers had suspected GM would extend the program through Labor Day.
GM spokeswoman Deborah Silverman confirmed Wednesday that the company will end the program Monday. She said the company doesn't plan to announce any other incentive deals on Monday.
The discount boosted GM's sales by 41 percent in June, and the company also is expected to report double-digit sales increases this month when it reports July sales next week. The program was so successful that Ford Motor Co. (F) and DaimlerChrysler AG (DCX) matched it in July.
Ford spokesman Dan Bedore said Wednesday that the company doesn't plan to announce whether it is extending the discount program until Monday, when the current discount expires.
GM shares fell 33 cents to $36.63 on the New York Stock Exchange (search), while Ford shares lost 8 cents to $10.78. DaimlerChrysler's U.S. shares rose 57 cents to $43.55 on the NYSE.
Get all the stories you need-to-know from the most powerful name in news delivered first thing every morning to your inbox