Cars and Drivers

Ford Offers Fusion With Zero Dollar Finance Package

Ford Motor Co. (NYSE: F) must have a great deal of trouble selling its inventory of 2014 Fusions. It has started to offer among the most aggressive incentive packages in the industry so far this year.

Under terms of new leases for the Fusion, Ford Credit Financing has a 0% APR for 60 months in some regions of the United States. “Cash back” for the Fusion ranges from $1,000 to $2,500.

Lease offers for the 2014 Fusion SE are just as attractive — $0 down payment, $0 first month payment and $0 cash at signing.

The Fusion deals are another in a line of incentives given by manufacturers to move cars that have not sold well, or have very large inventories, off of lots.

The Fusion was among the top 20 selling cars and light trucks in the United States during January. Ford sold 20,717 Fusions, but that was down 7.5% from the same month in 2013. The Ford brand has struggled with all the vehicles it has among the top 20 sellers, based on January data. Sales of the Focus, Explorer and Escape were all down. Even sales of Ford’s flagship F-150 dropped slightly. Overall, Ford’s sales fell 7.5% to 153,494 for the month.

News that car companies have started to aggressively discount is not new. According to the Dallas News:

With inventories of new vehicles at their highest levels since the recession, look for some big sales incentives in the weeks ahead.

“We think incentives are going to start climbing,” Larry Dominique, executive vice president of TrueCar, told Automotive News.

All of the Detroit 3 began February with more than a 100-day supply of unsold vehicles – enough to last almost to Memorial Day at the selling rates in January.

Other automakers had 88 days’ worth of vehicles as of Feb. 1 – the most for that date since 2009, at the peak of the recession.

For consumers, the test is not whether there are incentives anymore; in an industry awash with them, it is where buyers can best find them.

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