It’s the start of a new month, and that means is time for sales reports once again.
Like everywhere else, Saab sales are down in Sweden. They’re not quite as far down in Sweden as they are elsewhere, but they’re down nonetheless.
The Saab 9-3 is holding steady for 2008, with 1,087 units sold in Sept 08, slightly up on the 1,062 sold in the same month last year. For the full year so far, there’s been 9,733 sales, which is up from the 9,222 sold YTD for the same period last year.
It’s good to have a sales increase story, yes?
Unfortunately, the modest increase in the 9-3 is more than offset by monthly and yearly declines in the Saab 9-5.
The Saab 9-5 is still the sixth most popular car in Sweden, selling 606 units for the month (786 last year) and 5,660 units for the year so far (8,037 last year). That’s a 22% fall for the month and a 29% fall for the year to date.
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Cadillac
My favourite whipping boy, the Cadillac BLS, is selling so slowly that it’s not even listed in the figures I’ve seen.
Even the GM total figure, broken down by marque in the BilSweden report, lists no sales for Cadillac.
What a monumental waste.
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‘Green’ cars
The Saab 9-3 BioPower is still the strongest selling ‘green’ car in Sweden, though there’s a real possibility it may be overtaken by the Volvo V70II Flexfuel by the end of October.
The Saab 9-3 BioPower has sold 7,117 units this year (3689 YTD last year) and the Volvo has sold 6,900 units this year (not available last year) and is selling at 1,500 units a month (compared to around 900 for the Saab).
Again, the BLS isn’t listed in Swedish ‘green’ sales figures, despite having a 2.0T flexfuel version, a wagon variant (crucial in Sweden) and it being a car that’s cheaper than the equivalent Saab 9-3.
Someone tell me why they’re wasting money on Cadillac again….
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If you drive a cadillac (that is not older than 30 years) in sweden people will think you are stupid, as stupid as the car looks…
Some UK sales figures for you – they’re official ones, from the Society of Motor Manufacturers & Traders, but not broken down by model…
August 2008
Saab – 411 (0.65% market share)
For comparison, Aug ’07 – 773 (1.0%)
’08 YTD
Saab – 11,553 (0.78%)
YTAug ’07 – 15,203 (1.0%)
Whole of 2007 – 23,642 (0.98%)
Whole of 2006 – 26,962 (1.15%)
Whole of 2005 – 27,465 (1.13%)
Whole of 2004 – 20,295 (0.79%)
And, just to feed your craving…
Cadillac – Aug ’08? Two whole cars… (Aug ’07 – 19)
Swade: the word I got on the BLS is that it was only intended as a model to use while setting-up a Cadillac sales network in Europe. They can open Cadillac dealers now and sell BLS models in anticipation of selling the CTS and other larger American-designed Caddies in the near future. So the fact that the BLS is a sales flop isn’t really that big a deal in that it’s providing a foothold in Europe.
That said, how many Cadillac dealers now exist in Europe as a result of the BLS? I remember when that HUMMER dealership opened in England that same day new taxes were enacted against it. Now that GM’s trying to sell HUMMER (officially), they can convert the few HUMMER dealerships to Cadillac dealerships?
I would want a BLS almost simply for the exclusivity factor. There are NONE in the country where I live, but even if I lived in a country where they’re sold (Sweden, South Africa, Mexico…), or theoretically “sold”, I wouldn’t mind having one. It’s not like you’re going to see a lot of people driving the same car as you on the road. It’s basically a Saab but Cadillac “themed” and I understand that they sell for much less than the Saab variant. Make mine a flex-fuel wagon!!!
It’s almost like when I see a 9-2X on the road. I know it’s a Subaru, but I still think it’d be kind of cool to own one as a Saab collector as they’re kinda’ rare.
Adrian: because those numbers are not broken down by model, isn’t it conceivable that 0 BLSs were sold and both those Caddies were Escalades bought by footballers?
August’s a bit early for the start of the season, but they also list the CTS, STS, SRX here as well as the Escalade and BLT – take your pick as to which they sold…!
I’ve seen precisely one BLT on the road here, I think – and that was a rental. Still, at least we don’t get the 9-2x… Mind you, Subaru don’t seem to be able to shift the new Impreza, either.
I have found a video of the new STCC racing Saab 9-3 in action:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=inbW3yBRNp4
What the heck is a BLT? I know it’s not a bacon, lettuce, and tomato sandwich!
Is that the combi version of the BLS?
BLT. BLS. It’s the small Cad that sells about as well as a week-old sandwich, anyway.