A General Motors Corp. executive says sales price incentives have likely become a regular part of the business due to the increased competitiveness, according to Dow Jones Newswire.

So-called "negative pricing, is what it is," and every manufacturer is doing it in one form or another in the current incentive-driven market, although some may claim they don't, said Paul Ballew, executive director of global marketing for General Motors, Dow Jones Newswire reported.

The intense competition is due to cyclical economic pressure as well as ongoing structural changes in the auto industry, Ballew said. But Ballew said he thinks there is an undue amount of time spent agonizing over it, by both the media and the industry, since offering incentives "is a natural by-product of an industry that has changed."

Twenty or so years ago the industry used to be "procyclical," with prices rising in times of more robust demand. But that wasn't the case in the 1990s, "so it is a change in the way we do business," Ballew said. But in comparison with other industry sectors, "I wouldn't say it is that abnormal. What is abnormal is that we as an industry are not used to it," he noted, according to Dow Jones Newswire.

Ballew's comments come on the heels of reports that both GM and Ford Motor Co., are offering a new round of rebates to stimulate sales in May and June, Dow Jones Newswire reported.