I’ve received a couple of interesting transcripts in the mail over the last few days and I thought I’d share them in full here.

The first one is a translation of an interview with Opel chief, Hans Demant, from Auto Motor and Sport magazine in Germany. Opel have a lot going on with the new Insignia, but they also have a lot to do with Saab and just about everything that GM do in Europe. If it can’t be used by Opel in some way, then it’s probably not going to get done. So this interview has some Saab-specifics in it, as well as a lot of Opel stuff.

My thanks to Albert VDB for translating it and sending it in for me to share here. Albert also raises some interesting questions at the end.

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Mr. Demant, How many units of the new Insignia do you want to sell in Western-Europe?

Demant: As many as the market wants. We do not have any restrictions in Rüsselsheim. In two-shift mode we can produce 180.000 vehicles per year. About two thirds of that, we can problem free assign to the Insignia. Because from the end of 2009 the new Saab 9-5 will roll of the Rüsselsheimer lines for the first time. (q1)

And at the same time an Astra-variant should be integrated in the mother plant. Which one?

Demant: That is still open. But we will make this decision within the coming six months, in order to start in time with the necessary tooling.

The costs for this step are said to be up to 100 million Euros, according to works council chief Franz. Is it in any way possible to allow yourself this amount at this time?

Demant: This sum is way too high. The component architecture for the Insignia and the coming Astra are so alike that I assume an investment of clearly under 50 million Euros. (q2)

Saab 9-3 Sedan and wagon were originally planned for production in Rüsselsheim and now go to Trollhättan. Do you see chances for the German plant to take over at least the production of the cabrio-version, that also will be based on the same platform as the coming Astra?

Demant: The portfolio planning for the successor of the Saab 9-3 cabrio has not been closed yet. When we give the green light for that, we will check intensively where the production is worthwhile. Because we do have a great competence with the in-house production of cabrios, as for instance the Astra TwinTop in Antwerpen shows.

Will there be more versions of the Insignia other than the sedan, the fastback and the wagon – such as a coupe or some kind of space-functional concept, like BMW plans on the bases of the 5-series?

Demant: No, that is not foreseen at the moment. However, we would be able to bring a new version to the market within 18 months if there is a market demand. (q3)

When can we at last expect the city car below the Agila, about which you are talking since years?

Demant: I am sure that we need a city car. A cost effective development however is not easy. Even at Tata in India the initial euphoria for the concept is now followed by disillusionment as they come to the realisation.

How far are the talks with the motorcycle producers, that would accommodate you - in line with the Tata Nano – with simple cheap solutions?

Demant: We ended those. Because the big promises were not followed by corresponding actions. Because of this we rather want to develop a new global city car architecture on our own power which then also fulfils the future Euro N-CAP protocol. Und that gives the best consumption figures at the same time.

At the same time we will painfully watch out that driving pleasure will not be shortcoming. Then all but the least of the customers buy cars just because of their eco friendliness. This lesson we learned a few years ago with our Astra Eco4.

When will we see – at the other end of the portfolio – a successor to the Omega and with that a VW Phaeton competitor?

Demant: the car is available as a completely developed concept. We only have to decide if we bring it on the street or not. Watching the actual CO2 discussion and fleet consumption a car of this size does not have the highest priority.

Besides, we have now made with GM in Europe a profit for two years in a row and want to add a third – despite all the negative surroundings – such as the risen material prices and negative exchange rates. Because of this we do not want to rush into every segment.

Does this also count for the small Opel Offroader based on the Corsa that should roll off the line in Antwerpen from 2010?

Demant: We never confirmed this plan officially. A model like that fits right into the group of cars that we would like to have, but that are not necessary to have.

How, in your opinion, will the German market develop in this year?

Demant: I am cautiously optimistic, when I say that we will not quite reach the last year’s level of 3,2 million new car registrations.

And what do you expect from Russia?

Demant: Last year we sold 66.000 Opels. In the first half of this year there were already 54.000 sales, practically double that of the comparable period last year. That is a hefty development.

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Albert’s notes from the interview:

q1) Does that mean that the new Saab 9-5 is calculated at 60,000 units a year?

Me: Simple mathematics would presume that that’s the case. I tend to think they’re being a bit optimistic, though. I’d have thought the Insignia-to-Saab 9-5 ratio would be a bit more than 2:1. Actually, I would have thought they can make and sell 180,000 Insignia’s all by themselves.

q2) Is he really saying here that Delta and Epsilon II are so alike that we shouldn’t worry about using either Delta or Epsilon II?

Me: I’m not sure what he’s saying there in terms of what we’d be concerned about.

q3) If it takes 18 month to bring a new version, then why does it take up to 2012 to bring a new 9-3?

Me: A very good question indeed. I’d love to hear an answer to that one, but I’ve got a feeling the question would be buried under a heap other questions that were deemed to be more important. Know what I mean?

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The second article came from Tekniken’s Varld and is summarised below with some comments, by ctm. It’s related to the first one in that it deals with the possibility of Opel dipping its toes into the premium market:

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At some point they cite the German magazine Auto Motor und Sport. I don’t know if this is “new” stuff (happened recently) or “old” stuff (a few lines from an interview expanding into an article
during a slow summer month).

Anyway, I like the first main line which goes something like this: “Bob Lutz, GM Vice Chariman Global Product Development, put an end to Opel’s ambition to compete in the premium cars segment.”

Evidently, Opel, with backing from Carl Peter Forster, wanted a successor to the bigger Signum model, which in the article is described as almost a fiasco (and it did seem to disappear due to low demand). At first, there were talks about using the Cadillac CTS as a basis for the new model, but then they decided to develop an new flagship car to compete with the other German manufacturers sedans.

The new car was to be one part of GM’s plan to restructure its European brands. Opel would take a big step upwards to become a premium brand, while Chevrolet would be the cheaper brand (and Saab sold off?). Opel boss Hans Demant has revealed that the new car advanced as far as a concept, and that’s when Bob Lutz put an end to the plans with the explanation that that the new Insignia is as far premium as Opel should go. In an interview with the Auto Motor und Sport, Lutz explains that such a car would have a very slim chance to succeed in the premium segment.

My 2 cents? I get the feeling that this is another snippet from some sort of a board room brawl (maybe last year, maybe 2-3 years ago) over the brands - and it that brawl it was decided (among other things) that Saab is not for sale, that Saab is a premium brand, and that Saab will get a new model lineup. Opel have to go after VW, Skoda, Ford, Peugeot etc, and Chevrolet branded Daewoo’s are the cheaper car for mainly Southern and Eastern Europe.

I haven’t seen anything else about this. But I’m mainly at the beach at the moment and kind of disconnected.

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Sorry ctm, but I had to leave that last bit in……it’s good to hear you’re enjoying your summer!

My thanks to ctm and Albert VDB for sending these in. They’re more directly concerned with Opel, but given the state of flux that Saab is in at the moment, it’s interesting to read some of the European stories and try to get a sense of where Saab are going.

There really is an identity crisis going on at the moment.

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