GM HITS TARGET WITH CAR BARGAIN WORKER DISCOUNT MAY BE EXTENDED.

Byline: Gregory J. Wilcox Staff Writer

General Motors Corp. has revved up June sales with a simple discount promotion that's proving so popular with customers and dealers alike that it might be extended, a top company official said Monday.

The company's employee discount, which is being given to anyone who buys a GM vehicle between June 1 and July 5, could drive the big automaker's monthly sales tally to a four-year high, analysts reported Monday.

``We're having an absolutely tremendous month,'' said Mark R. LaNeve, vice president of vehicle sales, service and marketing at GM North America. ``I think by the end of June our sales will be relatively flat with a year ago. I think it gives us a good platform to move forward.

The recent discount cuts the price to between 3 percent and 4 percent under the dealer invoice, minus incentives, and has in the past been offered to company employees and their siblings.

``We're considering it,'' LaNeve said of continuing the discount program during an interview Monday at the Daily News. ``But we have the responsibility to run the numbers.''

With the program set to end next week, the company will likely make a quick decision.

Executives can also expect pressure from dealers across the country. It's an easy promotion to understand because the vehicle price is posted on a window.

John Nguyen, general manager at Livingston GMC/Pontiac/Buick in Woodland Hills, said customers are streaming in asking for their employee discount.

``It is a great boost,'' Nguyen said. ``It generated traffic, created a buzz and generated business. We're selling to people who probably would have bought another brand.''

Nguyen said he'd like to see the program extended and noted that some stores are getting short on inventory as the month winds down.

Automakers will report June sales Friday.

Merrill Lynch analyst John Casesa predicted in a note to investors that June will be GM's best month since the post-9-11 incentive blitz in October 2001.

A candid LaNeve, in an interview with editors and reporters, said the company needs to improve its standing in the market. The company is coming off a dismal first quarter in which it lost $839 million, or $1.48 per share. In the 2004 first quarter, GM earned $1.2 billion, or $2.12 a share.

LaNeve said the automaker hopes to turn around by refocusing each of its eight domestic divisions, making Chevrolet a volume brand that will compete across all lines and leaving Cadillac as the premium brand. In between, others like Buick and Pontiac will have a more tightly focused portfolio, some offering only a handful of models.

The recent promotion could help the company grab as much as 30 percent of the market, up from its 25.4 percent share in the first five months of this year.

``After five terrible months of market share, this is relatively good news for GM,'' Casesa said.

Gregory J. Wilcox, [phone]

greg.wilcox(at)dailynews.com

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(color) Mark LaNeve, vice president of sales, service and marketing at GM North America, talks to the Daily News on Monday.

Evan Yee/Staff Photographer