General Motors Corp. on Jan. 8 said that it will offer interest-free loans for terms of up to five years or cash rebates of up to $3,500 on most of its new 2004 model year vehicles, its latest incentives to boost U.S. sales, according to a Reuters report.

GM also offered low financing rates of 1.9 percent or 2.9 percent on six-year loans on most of its models, Reuters said. A few vehicles are excluded from the interest-free financing offer for five-year loans, including Cadillacs, the Hummer H2 SUV, the Chevrolet SSR roadster and the Pontiac GTO sports coupe, the news agency noted.

GM executives said this week at the Detroit auto show that spending on sales incentives was flat in the fourth quarter last year compared with the third quarter, but vehicle sales still climbed due to the strengthening U.S. economy and the debut of some new models.

However, on a year-over-year basis, incentive spending rose sharply, Reuters noted. GM spent an average of $3,785 on vehicle incentives in 2003, up 50 percent from an average of $2,516 in 2002, Credit Suisse First Boston said in a research note Jan. 8.

The new incentives follow GM's launch on Jan. 5 of it's "Hot Button" giveaway of 1,000 new cars and trucks, a $50 million promotion to entice consumers to enter GM dealerships over the next two months. GM said it expects about 5.5 million consumers will visit a dealership and enter the contest, boosting traffic during the traditionally quiet winter months.