NEW YORK — Chrysler said Wednesday it is offering up to $6,000 worth of incentives on its 2009 cars and trucks as it races to emerge from bankruptcy protection and counter a prolonged U.S. sales slump.
The new incentives — which come off prices negotiated with dealers — are Chrysler’s latest push to keep customers coming into its showrooms. They replace a promotion launched in January that included so-called employee pricing plus rebates and zero percent financing. Over the weekend, the company launched an advertising campaign that included full-page ads in newspapers across the country proclaiming it is “building a new car company.”
The No. 3 U.S. automaker filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy last week and is trying to complete a sale of most of its assets to Italian automaker Fiat.
Chrysler said the incentives are aimed at reducing the bottom-line price of cars. They include $4,000 in cash, $1,000 for current Chrysler vehicle owners and up to $1,000 for financing through participating credit unions.
Chrysler’s sales are down 46 percent for the first four months of the year.
