While shoppers may be accustomed to seeing rebates on cars, there can be ways to save thousands more simply by switching brands. That's because some of the largest auto manufacturers offer so-called conquest incentives specifically meant to get you to consider — and switch — from a competing brand.
Whether it's a lease conquest incentive, competitive bonus cash, or other types of conquest bonus cash, some of the best deals on cars involve discounts for ditching your loyalty to a particular brand and changing to another. Here's a look at how conquest cash works and how it could save you serious money.
What Is Conquest Cash?
Conquest cash is a manufacturer incentive targeting owners and/or lessees of competing vehicles. Automakers often use this tactic to challenge brand loyalty and increase their market share. These are sometimes also called competitive conquest or competitive owner offers, and can change from one month to the next.
Simply put, this type of incentive is meant to put a question into shoppers' minds to get them to consider another brand. It doesn't sound important, but the effects could be big if you consider a driver may stick with a set of brands their entire life. Leasing is an area in which conquest offers are especially commonplace.
That's because automakers know that lessees tend to be more loyal than most customers since it's easy to roll into the newest model at the end of a lease. Most conquest cash incentives don't even require you to trade-in your existing car. They can also often be transferred to other members of the same household.
Conquest deals often target owners of a broad range of competing brands. For example, Infiniti sometimes has a Conquest Bonus Cash offer on select models for owners of any non-Infiniti or non-Nissan vehicle. Having said that, the list of qualifying competitive car brands may vary from one company to the next.
In rarer cases, an automaker may even target specific makes or models. For example, Chevy once offered a $2,000 bonus on its popular Camaro specifically targeted at Mustang drivers. For a brief period, Mercedes-Benz also had a $4,000 incentive that Tesla owners could take advantage of on select EV models.
Types Of Conquest Cash Incentives
Lease-To-Lease Conquest Cash
As the name implies, a lease-to-lease conquest cash incentive rewards customers going from one lease to another. To qualify, you'll need to currently lease a car from a qualifying list of makes and/or models. These can typically be transferred between members of the same household (those residing at the same address).
If you're a family that loves Jeeps, this can be a great incentive to add a model like the Grand Cherokee to your garage. That's because Stellantis often has lease conquest bonus cash that can make the popular SUV cheaper to buy or lease. Chrysler deals can vary by region so be sure to check monthly deals carefully.
Lease-To-Purchase Conquest Cash
A lot of conquest incentives can be used when going from a lease to either another lease or a purchase. In some cases, lease-to-purchase incentives may be better or worse than those for choosing to lease. The details may be in the fine print so check with your dealer just to be safe.
Watch out for possible restrictions that require you to finance your next car through a brand's captive lender. If you plan on paying cash for your new car or truck, this could tie you to manufacturer financing. In some cases, dealers may have the ability to mark-up those interest rates.
Different Brands With Conquest Cash Incentives
Audi Acquisition Program
The Audi Acquisition Program targets owners of BMW, Infiniti, Lexus, or Mercedes-Benz vehicles.
Discount amounts can range from $500 to as much as $2,000 depending on the model.
This incentive used to be fairly common before the pandemic but it's been years since we saw this program offered by the Audi brand.
Chrysler Competitive Lease Conquest
Stellantis (formerly Fiat Chrysler Automobiles, or FCA) encompasses the Chrysler, Dodge, Jeep, RAM, FIAT, and Alfa Romeo brands.
On most models, the automaker has an incentive called Conquest Lease to Retail/Lease, which targets current lessees of any non-FCA vehicle and can be used toward another lease or even a new purchase. The discount is usually worth an extra $1,000 on top of other offers but we've seen some offer up to $3,000.
Ford Competitive Lease Conquest
The Ford Competitive Lease Conquest program targets current lessees of non-Ford/Lincoln/Mercury vehicles. It can be applied toward a purchase or lease and is sometimes available on most models.
In general, Ford discounts can range between $500 and $750 and can be combined with other offers, including Ford Plan Pricing.
Genesis Competitive Owner Coupon
The Genesis Competitive Owner Coupon sounds like something you'd cut out from your weekly ad.
To qualify, you'll need to come from any of the following brands: Acura, Alfa Romeo, Aston Martin, Audi, Bentley, BMW, Cadillac, Honda, Infiniti, Jaguar, Lexus, Lincoln, Mercedes-Benz, Maserati, Mini, Nissan, Porsche, Rolls-Royce, Tesla, Toyota, and Volvo.
You can even get the discount for coming from a Hyundai.
GM Competitive Lessee Program
The General Motors Competitive Lessee Program targets lessees of non-GM vehicles (i.e. excluding Buick, Cadillac, Chevrolet, GMC, Hummer, Oldsmobile, Pontiac, and Saturn). It can be used toward the lease or purchase of a new GM vehicle. Discount amounts range from $500 to $2,500 based on the model.
Buick models can often benefit from the largest discounts, especially when dealing with vehicles like the Buick Enclave. Just about every Chevy lease on a mainstream model tends to have lease deals that include a $1,500 lease conquest discount that you can only get when coming from a non-GM lease.
GM's aggressive conquest cash incentives help make Buick one of the best brands to lease.
Hyundai Competitive Owner Coupon
The Hyundai Competitive Owner Coupon targets owners of most non-Hyundai/Kia brand vehicles. Discount amounts range from $500 to as much as $1,000 depending on the model. We've seen fewer of this type of incentive in recent years, so don't get your hopes up if you're thinking of switching to a Hyundai.
In a recent example, the all-electric 2024 Hyundai IONIQ 5 had up to $10,000 in savings when factoring in a $7,500 lease incentive with a $2,500 conquest bonus. Hyundai has modified this incentive several times. We recommend checking the IONIQ 5 deals near you to look for the latest monthly EV incentives.
Infiniti Conquest Offer
Infiniti sometimes offers conquest cash on select models. A more recent incentive was $2,000 off the flagship Infiniti QX80 SUV.
To qualify, a dealer incentive bulletin indicated that you simply needed to come from any non-Infiniti or non-Nissan brand vehicle. The deal in question was for buying or leasing.
Lincoln Competitive Retail Conquest Bonus
The Lincoln Competitive Retail Conquest Bonus targets owners of non-Ford/Lincoln/Mercury vehicles. It's generally offered on most models and can range from $1,000 to over $2,000 in rare cases.
Lucid Conquest Bonus Cash
Even though it's a relatively new brand, Lucid Motors unveiled a conquest cash bonus on the Lucid Air sedan in late 2023. It offered $2,000 in cash that could be combined with a $7,500 lease incentive for nearly $10,000 in combined savings.
When the deal was in effect, it targeted owners of the following luxury brands: BMW, Mercedes-Benz, Genesis, Audi, Porsche, Lexus, Land Rover, and Tesla. The fact that Lucid was effectively paying Tesla owners to switch brands was notable.