DaimlerChrysler AG's Chrysler unit said sales have risen since the No. 3 U.S. automaker increased rebates and extended lower-interest loans on Jan. 7, according to the Detroit News.

"The price war will be ongoing, incentives will be a way to compete, will not go away," Wolfgang Bernhard, Chrysler chief operating officer, said Jan. 15 at the Automotive News World Congress in Dearborn, Mich. "We are pricing ourselves for that kind of fight. It will be a difficult year."

Chrysler's sales have been increasing since it boosted rebates on large sedans and Durango sport utility vehicles, Bernhard said. Chrysler's December sales growth lagged behind rivals, rising 0.8 percent from the year-earlier period, as Ford Motor Co. sales increased 13 percent and General Motors Corp. rose 36 percent, according to the News.

Chrysler is keeping its incentives several hundred dollars lower than rivals and using an extended engine and transmission warranty to offset the difference, Bernhard said. He reiterated the unit's goal of a $2 billion operating profit this year.