GM Canada offers cash for clunkers to boost sales

General Motors Canada has become the latest car maker to offer its own scrappage incentive.

GM announced Wednesday (Sept. 16) it will offer customers up to $3,000 off a new GM vehicle if they trade in their old clunkers, making the Oshawa-based manufacturer the fourth automaker to offer its own scrappage incentive in Canada.

Consumers who scrap their old cars through the government’s Retire Your Ride program will qualify for the rebate, said GM, which joins Hyundai Canada, Chrysler Canada and Ford Canada in offering similar rebates.

GM’s program provides consumers with a rebate of $500, $1,000, $2,000 or $3,000, depending on the vehicle they purchase.

To qualify, the scrapped vehicle must be a 1995 model or older, in running condition, registered and properly insured for the last six months, or 12 months in British Columbia.

The new program builds on the success of an earlier program, under which GM partnered with the not-for-profit Clean Air Foundation to offer consumers $1,000 to replace their old vehicle with a new, more fuel-efficient GM model, said Marc Comeau, GM Canada’s vice-president of sales, service and marketing.

“GM Canada was the first automaker to support the Clean Air Foundation in their efforts to remove older, higher-polluting vehicles from our roads in order to significantly reduce greenhouse gas emissions,” Comeau said.

The government’s scrappage program offers $300 and other small incentives for consumers to retire their clunkers.

Environment Minister Jim Prentice has said Ottawa would not expand the program despite the success of a similar US$4,500 incentive in the U.S., which significantly boosted auto sales and production.

Photograph by: Tyler Brownbridge/File photo