General Motors Corp will give away 1,000 cars and trucks in the US during the next two months in its biggest promotion of that kind, as the world's largest automaker lures potential buyers to dealerships.
The GM Hot Button campaign will cost US$50 million, with half for the vehicles and the rest for advertising and marketing, Steve Hill, the company's director of retail planning, told reporters in Troy, Michigan. The promotion, in which dealership visitors press a button in a designated vehicle, starts today.
January and February traditionally draw fewer new-vehicle shoppers because of cold weather. General Motors estimates it will attract as many as 40 percent more customers with the promotion. The giveaway comes as the automaker's annual US market share probably fell for the first time in three years.
"We're going to appeal to a lot of people who aren't in the market right now," Hill said on Friday.
Detroit-based General Motors has relied mainly on incentives such as rebates and no-interest loans to boost demand since 2001's Sept. 11 terrorist attacks. The company also has used offers such as 24-hour test drives to win over buyers.
General Motors also is also seeking to raise awareness of its brands through the giveaway. Many customers of some brands, including Saturn, Hummer and Saab, don't know they are part of General Motors, Hill said.
In the Hot Button promotion, shoppers go to a designated car or truck at a dealer showroom. They press a button inside the vehicle that activates the automaker's OnStar emergency-assistance service, which connects the car to operators by wireless or satellite phone systems. The OnStar operator tells the person if he or she won a free vehicle.
A winner would get a vehicle from the brand of dealership that he or she is visiting. Models to be used in the giveaway include the Hummer H2, Saturn Vue, Buick Rainier and GMC Envoy sport-utility vehicles; Chevrolet SSR pickups; and Pontiac GTO and Saab 9-3 cars.
The promotion is limited to one entry per household and the odds of winning are one in 5,500, General Motors said.
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