Comments on: JAJ on Saab

By: GWC

GWC — Sun, 30 Nov 2008 21:51:20 +0000

“we’ve moved away from some sales networks ”

I read this to mean … “we no longer offer employee purchase discount pricing on the 9-3 which discount compiled with massive rebates substantially impacts our profit position”

By: max

max — Sat, 29 Nov 2008 20:04:46 +0000

But can Saab survive at high prices without the US market? Doubtful.

By: bjorn n

bjorn n — Sat, 29 Nov 2008 18:20:50 +0000

Higher prices and a much more favourable dollar rate to the swedish krona (compared wuth previous years) can make a big difference to the bottom line

By: saabista63

saabista63 — Sat, 29 Nov 2008 16:09:59 +0000

I hear the message but am not sure whether Saab can really profit from raising its prices. Of course, it does not make sense to “chase volume at any costs”, as JAJ is putting it. Anyway, in some markets, “volume” is not the term you would use to talk about Saab sales figures, anyway.
Voume, on the other hand, is what dealers need to be profitable, as many dealers do not or hardly make money from selling new cars. They make money from selling used cars (No new cars, no used cars!) and from maintenance and servicing. If you don’t have many cars to service – as it seems to be the case with quite a few Saab dealerships – you will finally have to give up the brand and close down or find another brand that will provide more volume.

For the dealers all of that sounds like bad news. Without loyal dealers that are willing and able to provide excellent service quality, a brand is likely to lose customers. That seems to be happening to Saab in many markets.
In the end, Saab will have to come up with a new and very clever marketing strategy – and I guess, it better be new to the industry than new to just Saab.

Yours

saabista63

By: albert

albert — Sat, 29 Nov 2008 15:43:24 +0000

I don’t care about the pronounciation. I’ll probably never talk to him. But I see that Jan is being pronounced almost the same way as we Dutchies do it.
In the meantime this is the second time that we hear that selling Saab’s in the USA actually brings money in GM’s pocket! I think the first time was in an interview with Wagoner, but it could have been Jan Willem Vester too.

By: eggsngrits

eggsngrits — Sat, 29 Nov 2008 13:50:12 +0000

TT is right, except that in English that would be a short “A” sound in “Jan”. Long “A” is like the “a” in game.

By: TTAero

TTAero — Sat, 29 Nov 2008 13:32:18 +0000

Jan-Åke
The “J” is pronounced without the “d” sound.
The “an” is with a long “a” as in the bird Swan. (replace “Sw” with the “J” above) = “Jan”
The “Å” sound is pronounced as the sound of “oa” in broad.
The “ke” sounds like the “ke” sonds in kernel.

Easy: Janoake

By: Mag-X

Mag-X — Sat, 29 Nov 2008 12:42:23 +0000

Sounds like he means that selling less cars at higher prices is actually making more money than selling as many cars as possible at almost no profit. I suppose only they really know though…

Not exactly on subject, but how exactly do you pronounce “Jan-Åke”?