KEY POINTS:
Carmakers are setting out to restore consumer confidence in an industry battered by soaring oil prices and the credit crisis but constantly developing technology to better new emissions and fuel economy standards.
The first step began in the United States, along the lines of the "Keep America Rolling" campaign General Motors launched seven years ago after 9/11.
Only this time it was led by rich and powerful Toyota, stung into action by last month's collapse in US vehicle sales. Toyota sales alone were down 31.2 per cent for the month.
The Japanese company is spending more than US$250 million (NZ$410m) on incentives and advertising this month to brag about its captive finance arm. The campaign is called "Saved by Zero" and the message is: Toyota Financial Services has plenty of cash to lend to Americans.
The programme promotes zero per cent financing on 11 vehicles, a mix of cars and commercials. Further, it subsidises dealer involvement. For every dollar that its US dealers spend on promoting the scheme, Toyota head office will contribute 50 cents.
Toyota in the US has offered low-interest deals before, but executives say this time things are different.
"The big difference in this programme is really the advertising behind it, not necessarily the incentive," says Jim Lentz, president of Toyota Motor Sales USA.
He says Toyota will let consumers know that there is credit available to buy a vehicle. "In our case, credit is not the biggest challenge," says Lentz. "The challenge is consumer confidence."
Analysts say the money comes from the parent company's deep pockets in Japan. Toyota wouldn't confirm or deny the $250 million figure but a spokesman says the scope of the programme is unusual for the company.
"It's a significant commitment and investment to build showroom traffic for our dealers," says Mike Michels. "The only other comparable period was post-9/11. It was time to take dramatic steps to restore consumer confidence."
US carmaker Ford's office in New Zealand wants to keep this country rolling too, after a couple of months of slow new-vehicle sales.
"The big thing facing the States right now is consumer confidence," says Ford NZ managing director Richard Matheson, himself an American.
"What you are hearing from Toyota in the US is what Ford's finance arm, Ford Credit, also is doing. If you look at what (Ford CEO Alan) Mulally has been saying, there is $US30-plus billion dollars in cash and marketable securities on Ford's balance sheet.
"Ford has a worldwide plan in place. It's the same plan we had in place before all this mess, and it's the same plan we are going to have after all this mess.
"It is to cut costs and bring in the right product for the market place. In America, that means more small cars, products from Ford of Europe. We already have that product in New Zealand."
Matheson says the market here is finding its feet, after an August and September sales slump.
"If you take the September numbers and extrapolate them across the year, we would be looking at sales of 91,000 units for 2008. Last year, we did 102,000.
"So is the market down off the boil? Absolutely. But is it the 83,000 new-vehicle industry we saw as recently as 2002? No. It is still a pretty good market in New Zealand for new vehicles."
