Intertemporal substitution and new car purchases

This article presents a dynamic demand model for motor vehicles. This approach accounts for the change in the mix of consumers over the model year and measures consumers' substitution patterns across products and time. I find intertemporal substitution is significant; consumers are more likely to change the timing of their purchase in reaction to a price increase rather than buy another vehicle in the same period. Further, I find automakers' use of large cash‐back rebates at the end of the model year, although boosting overall sales, induces large numbers of consumers to delay their purchases and so pay lower prices.