SANTA MONICA, CA – www.Edmunds.com recently estimated that the average auto manufacturer incentive in the United States was $2,587 per vehicle sold in Sept. 2006, up $182, or 8 percent, from Aug. 2006, and up $243, or 10 percent, from Sept. 2005. Edmunds.com’s monthly True Cost of Incentives report takes into account all manufacturers’ various U.S. incentives programs, including subvented interest rates and lease programs, as well as cash rebates to consumers and dealers. The calculations are based on sales volume, including the mix of vehicle makes and models, as well as on the proportion of vehicles for which each type of incentive was used. The industry’s total incentives spending were estimated to have totaled approximately $3.6 billion in September, unchanged from August. Chrysler, Ford, and GM spent a total of $2.6 billion, or 73 percent of the total; Japanese manufacturers spent $613 million, or 17 percent; European manufacturers spent $237 million, or seven percent; and Korean manufacturers spent $111 million, or 3 percent.