In the absence of any real movement by the Canadian government to establish a cash-for-clunkers program like the one that is currently boosting auto sales in the U.S., Hyundai Canada has just announced its own incentive program to get older, less-environmentally responsible cars off the road and get you into a Hyundai.

Currently through the Canadian government’s Retire Your Ride program, those who scrap their car are offered “green” incentives like a public transit pass, a membership to a car sharing program or a $300 cash rebate on the purchase of a 2004 or newer vehicle. That’s hardly as enticing as the $4,500 (almost $5,000 CDN) the U.S. government has on the table to get people in to more fuel-efficient cars.

Hyundai’s Clean Air Commitment acts as a top-up to the Canadian government’s program, and offers an additional $500 to $1,000 of “Clean Air Cash” off any 1995 and older vehicle that is in running condition and has been registered and insured for the last six months.

“Hyundai is committed to clean air in Canada,” said Steve Kelleher, president and CEO, Hyundai Auto Canada Corp. “Our Clean Air Commitment is about our responsibility to deliver a harmonious balance between vehicles and the environment; it’s about clean air now and for the future. Reducing vehicle emissions has a direct impact on the air we breathe, so helping to remove older, more-polluting vehicles from the road just makes sense. It’s something we can do today to immediately impact our environment.  We think that’s pretty smart.”

Currently Hyundai is committed to becoming an environmentally-responsible leader it he auto industry and has set a goal of reaching a fleet average of 35 mpg (6.7 liters per 100km) by 2015 – five years ahead of what will be required by upcoming U.S. and Canadian legislation. Hyundai also plans to bring a hybrid version of the upcoming next-generation Sonata to market using the company’s lithium polymer battery technology.

Official release after the jump:

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In a sign that the Cash-for-Clunkers program is working and that car sales are finally starting to turn a corner, General Motors has announced that it is increasing production and adding overtime shifts at several plants.

Shifts will be added at GM’s CAMI plant in Ingersoll, Ontario, Canada and at the Lordstown, Ohio plant. The Lordstown facility is responsible for assembly of the Chevy Cobalt, while the Ingersoll facility is home to the GMC Terrain and the all new 2010 Chevrolet Equinox (pictured above).

The added shifts means General Motors will bring 1,350 employees back on the job.

Earlier this month Gm added overtime shifts at its Arlington, Texas plant where the Cadillac Escalade, Chevrolet Tahoe and GMC Yukon are made.

The total production increase is said to be roughly 60,000 units, a move deemed necessary by General Motors to ensure its dealers have an appropriate number of vehicles on their lots after a surge in sales following the recent Cash-for-Clunkers legislation saw dealer inventories hit their lowest point since 1991.

[Source: Automotive News]

Audi will offer an additional $1,000 off any vehicle that also meets the requirements for a Cash-for-Clunkers rebate. This means customers could save up to $5,500 off the price of a new Audi.

Eligible vehicles for the CARS (Car Allowance Rebate System) rebate include hatchbacks, sedans, convertibles, crossovers and even sports cars. Notable models include the Audi A3, the new 2009 Audi A4, the TT (both Coupe and Roadster) and the new Q5 crossover.

“The CARS reimbursement enacted by Congress is a tremendous opportunity for consumers interested in upgrading to vehicles that offer better fuel efficiency and reduced emissions,” said Mark Del Rosso, Chief Operating Officer at Audi of America. “Now that some uncertainties surrounding the launch of this federal program have been cleared up the time is right to enhance the deal even further.”

Audi is awaiting official EPA ratings on the fuel-efficiency of its 2010 models to see if they will also be eligible for both the Audi and Cash-for-Clunkers discounts.

See the full list of eligible models after the jump:

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With the current state of affairs in the auto industry, smaller than expected losses have been cause to celebrate, so imagine the party the folks over at Ford must be having right now as the company announced today that it actually posted a sales gain.

Last month Ford’s 10 percent loss was seen as a sign that Ford is on the right track and that the economy might just be recovering. This month the American automaker posted a two percent increase compared to the same month a year earlier. But that number doesn’t even tell the whole story as retail sales were actually up nine percent. Less impressive fleet sales (notorious for low profit margins) curbed that number down to two percent.

As a sign that Ford is not only fighting off this recession, but that the automaker is actually producing products that consumers want to buy, this sales gain is the first since November 2007.

Ford’s sales and marketing VP Ken Czubay credited the company’s fuel-efficient vehicles, combined with the government’s Cash-for-Clunkers program for the positive results. “We had another strong month in progress before the ‘Cash for Clunkers’ program started,” he said. “Our products, our dealers and our advance preparation enabled us to leverage the program and drive traffic and sales to another level. In addition, we achieved a sales increase even though we decreased incentive spending in an increasingly competitive environment.”

Particularly successful models for Ford included the Fusion, Escape, Ranger and Flex. Fusion sales were up 66 percent; Escape sales were up 94 percent; while Ranger and Flex sales were both up 65 percent over a year ago. In addition Ford saw a drastic increase in the number of customers opting for hybrids, with Ford’s hybrid lineup (including the Fusion, Milan, Escape and Mariner) posting an increase of 323 percent.

Official release after the jump:

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With the U.S. government’s Cash-for-Clunkers rebate now available, Nissan is improving the fuel-economy of its cars to increase the chances that you’ll qualify for the full $4,500 at one of its dealerships.

The CARS (Car Allowance Rebate System) program works by giving a $3,500 or $4,500 voucher towards a new car when it gets 4 mpg or 10 mpg (respectively) more than the vehicle being traded in.

One vehicle that has already received some fuel-efficiency revisions in the Sentra, which reportedly gets a short list of minor modifications to improve overall fuel-economy by 1 mpg. That may not sound like much, but every small 1 mpg step means a lot of three and nine mpg differences just became four and 10 mpg differences and Nissan just attracted a lot of new bargain-hunting customers.

The revised Sentra is currently being evaluated by the EPA and Nissan will no doubt send out an official press release once the new fuel-economy rating has been approved.

[Source: Automotive News via Autoblog]

If you’ve been trying to decide whether or not to trade in your gas guzzler on a new fuel-efficient model and cash in on the government’s $4,500 CARS rebate, you’ve waited too long. The program, funded with 1 billion dollars of tax payers’ money is already running low – just six days after the Obama Administration officially launched it.

According to the NHTSA (National Highway Traffic Safety Administration), by the end of the Wednesday work day dealers had submitted 22,782 claims for a total of $95.5 million. 

At that rate the program will run out of money long before the planned CARS (Car Allowance Rebate System) expiration date of November 1st. Reuters cites Bailey Wood, a spokesman for the National Automobile Dealers Association, who speculates the program will run out of funding before the date.

The Cash-for-Clunkers legislation had been criticized heavily before being passed for not being sufficiently funded. 

The good news out of this is that if the CARS rebate system is used up (early or not) it is expected to generate as many as 250,000 car sales – something which should help speed up an economy that already shows signs of recovering.

Reuters cites an unnamed inside government source for the tip, who says the CARS program wil be suspended shortly. There is no word on if there are plans to find additional funding and re-instate Cash-for-Clunkers at a later date.

[Source: Automotive News]

In a bid to get inventory moving out of showrooms in a hurry, Chrysler has decided to offer a new incentive program that would double the value of the government’s cash-for-clunkers program.

Chrysler will offer $4,500 off (or 0 percent financing for 72 months) on most of its 2009 inventory – excluding the Dodge Challenger, Sprinter, Jeep Wrangler and all SRT products. The $4,500 incentive is even available on vehicles that do not meet the requirements for the cash-for-clunkers program, which was recently signed off on by President Obama.

Cash-for-Clunkers, or CARS (Car Allowance Rebate System) gives a $4,500 rebate on a new car when it gets 10 mpg or more better fuel mileage than the one traded in. The rebate is $3,500 on vehicles that get 4 to 9 mpg better or trucks that get 2 to 4 mpg better.

Chrysler, now under new leadership from Italian automaker Fiat is hoping the incentive will help sales rebound. Chrysler has been hit particularly hard this year with sales down 45.7 percent for the first six months.

When combined, these two offers mean a $17,090, Dodge Caliber SE could leave showrooms for as little as $8,090.

Chrysler’s “Double Ca$h for Your Old Car,” incentive starts tomorrow and runs through August.

[Source: Automotive News]

Hyundai is the first automaker to start accepting trade-ins under the pending Cash-for-Clunkers legislation, and during the first week of trade-ins CARS (Car Allowance Rebate System) rebates have accounted for seven percent of all sales for Hyundai Motor America.

While the Cash-for-Clunkers incentives have yet to be finalized by the U.S. government, automakers have been given a guarantee that all CARS trade-ins would be honored retroactively until July 2nd. In the mean time, Hyundai corporate is offering its dealers loans to cover the difference so customers can walk away with a new Hyundai at a significantly reduced cost.

The CARS legislation gives a $4,500 rebate on a new car when it gets 10 mpg or more better fuel mileage than the one traded in. The rebate is $3,500 on vehicles that get 4 to 9 mpg better or trucks that get 2 to 4 mpg better.

The most popular CARS purchase at Hyundai is for the Elantra compact car (pictured above), which accounts for 41 percent of all CARS deals at Hyundai in the first week. One reason for this as that customers can walk away with an Elantra for just $8,620 after trade.

The Sonata mid-sized sedan is the next popular purchase. In total Hyundai has 13 vehicle/engine combinations that are eligible for rebates under the CARS legislation, including the 2010 Genesis Coupe 2.0T.

“The early response we’re seeing demonstrates the CARS program is working, with inefficient gas guzzlers being traded-in for fuel-efficient Hyundai models,” said Hyundai Motor America CEO John Krafcik.  “We expect overall sales from this program to grow as consumer awareness increases – it should surpass ten percent of our retail sales this month.”

As for the vehicles traded in, Hyundai’s data shows that 32 percent of all clunkers are Ford products, while 23 percent are Dodges. Surprisingly, the list of clunkers also includes models from such prestigious brands as Jaguar, Lexus and Mercedes-Benz.

Official release after the jump:

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The Canadian government is currently examining if it will pass a cash-for-clunkers bill that could see consumers get up to $3,500 (CDN) towards a new car when they trade in their older and less fuel-efficient model.

Environment Minister Jim Prentice said a decision on the matter will be made within the next 60 days, as the government continues to be pressured by automakers. The government has also received added pressure after U.S. President Barack Obama signed off on a similar program last month that would see U.S. consumers get as much as $4,500 (USD) towards a new car when they trade in an old one with poor fuel economy.

Automakers are pressuring the government to help out in an effort to boost auto sales. Vehicle sales in Canada, however, are not suffering to the same extent that they are in the U.S. According to the Association of International Automobile Manufacturers of Canada (AIAMC), vehicle sales were down just 13.2 percent in June with year to date sales down 18.3 percent. Passenger vehicle sales were down 22.9 percent, while light duty truck sales were actually up 1.5 percent.

[Source: The Vancouver Sun]

After passing through both the Senate and the House, the Cash-for-Guzzlers bill has been signed by President Obama. Known also as Cash-for-Clunkers, the official name of the legislation is CARS – the Car Allowance Rebate System.

Vehicles that are traded in must get 18 mpg or worse and be newer than 25 years old. For those who trade in their guzzler for a vehicle that gets (on average) 4 mpg more will receive a $3,500 voucher toward the new car, while those who choose a vehicle that gets 10 mpg more than their current auto will receive the full $4,500.

The rules are slightly different for trucks as the full $4,500 voucher will be available for gas guzzling trucks when traded in on a new truck that gets 5 mpg more.

The hope is that this new legislation will boost auto sales. Similar initiatives (but which target old cars and not gas guzzling ones) have been a huge success in countries like German.

The CARS act will take effect at the end of July.

Those looking for more info can visit the CARS website here:

http://www.cars.gov/

[Source: Automotive News via Autoblog]