• September 1, 2009

After topping out at $3,165 -- a record -- automaker incentives dropped to $2,475 per vehicle sold, down $231, or 8.5% from July and 11.7% from August 2008, per Edmunds.com.

Combined incentives spending for domestic manufacturers averaged $3,193 per vehicle sold in August 2009, down from $3,617 in July 2009. European automakers increased incentives spending by $289 to $3,751 per vehicle sold last month; Japanese automakers decreased incentives spending by $11 to $1,571 per vehicle sold; and Korean automakers decreased incentives spending by $523 to $2,504 per vehicle sold.

Edmunds says Chrysler, Ford and General Motors spent an aggregate of $1.5 billion, or 53.6% of the total worldwide. Japanese manufacturers spent $778 million, or 26.8%; European manufacturers spent $299 million, or a near-record 10.3%; and Korean manufacturers spent $270 million, or 9.3%.

The brand that spent the least on incentives last month was Toyota's Scion division, spending $235, per Edmunds.com. Smart was at $422 per vehicle sold. Cadillac spent the most, at $6,121 per vehicle, followed by BMW at $6,010 per vehicle sold.--Karl Greenberg