At Serra Chevrolet in Southfield, Mich., north of Detroit, truck sales have been strong all year, but December is shaping up to be a great month because of the incentives, said Greg Brown, general manager. ‘‘I'm selling every one I get,’’ he said. ‘‘I think the incentives are phenomenal on them. It’s driving traffic in here.’’
And GM promises to remain competitive with discounts for the foreseeable future, said Don Johnson, head of Chevrolet sales. ‘‘We want to make sure we get our unfair or fair share,’’ he said. But he added that the company won’t go into ‘‘liquidation mode’’ to sell trucks.
Schuster said GM made too many trucks for the market and then decided to cut discounts at a bad time.
He said it’s a great time to buy, but the deals may not last long, especially as GM gets closer to selling its revamped trucks. The housing industry is coming back, and that always increases truck sales. And the average age of pickup trucks on the roads approaching 11 years, so companies and individual buyers are replacing them, Schuster said. That means there will be demand that could cut into supply and increase prices, he said.
‘‘You have everyone trying to finish the year strongly,’’ he said. ‘‘As we then look into next year, we’re likely to see higher prices, certainly on the new trucks.’’
