Earlier this week we got some 9-5 news from Djup Strupe that spelled out the following:
Sorry to say this but on a meeting today i got the information that 9-5 is delayed. The number of try-out builds are also reduced but i dont know if or how that affect the geneva show.
Guys, this circus is going nowhere but down. I also got some other ‘what-the-heck-is-going-on-here” info…but i guess the 9-5 is enough of bad news for you..
Following that, some other news publications in Europe covered the following….
9-5: fall 2009 (presentation in geneve is not certain any more)
9-3x: cancelled
light face lift 9-3 conv : cancelled
9-4x: late summer 2009 (presentation in detroit will normally take place)
New 9-3: will probably not be replaced. development is suspended/cancelled. The budget for the development of the new 9-3 is for the moment cancelled !
New compact 9-1: they’re not even talking about it any more
…….which I also ‘speculated’ on here. I use inverted commas around the word speculated there, because I can tell you right now that that piece of speculation was very well-informed, and that the European sources were exactly in line with the same Djup Strupe information I received, but didn’t share explicity here at TS.
Jeroen’s sent me some mail today about a news article from Autotelegraaf in Holland, who have been in touch with someone at Saab about those particular bits of news. Their article translates as follows:
“Saab is working according to plan”
If messages from the Swedish media are to be believed, then the local vehicle manufacturer Saab models have deleted some models. “Pure nonsense,” as the spokesman for the manufacturer let us know. “We are currently working entirely according to plan. There are no other decisions taken by the board.
No successor for the 9-3? There will be. The 9-3X deleted? You call me during the photo shoot.”
The spokesman says the rumors are nonsense. “Of course because of the current market situation we have to look when we launch the model,” the spokesman says. “But we are free to make that decision. We have never said where and when a new model is introduced. Next year the 9-3X, 9-4X and 9-5 will be released.”
The message that there will be no successor for the 9-3, the spokesman also denied. “That model will be there and will be built in Sweden.”
Previously, the CEO told Auto Telegraaf that the new generation shares the technical basis with the Opel Astra and Chevrolet Volt.
Now, I’m sure that there will be a successor to the Saab 9-3. The mail that came through to me was that the Djup Strupe concerned did not hear about it in the discussions/plans he was privy to, which was unusual.
All the other elements of that coverage, however, are the same as how I heard them. The sentence in the Telegraaf article about Saab being free to decide when new models are released is the one that goes to the heart of the issue – that new models are being delayed due to the current financial climate. And note there’s still no comment on the Saab 9-1, as per the info received.
So, Mr Saab rep……what’s your number? I’ll be happy for Djup Strupe to be wrong about the 9-3x vehicle as I’d love to see it come to market, and I’d love to call you during that photo shoot.
I’ve a strong feeling that there’ll be more news about all this in the next few weeks.
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Thanks to Jeroen and Roeland!
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I wont believe that everything is alright at Saab until someone from Saab HQ in Sweden publically says so. I hope the 9-5 will be at Geneva as I spent a ton of cash to get there so I still have faith it will be there. If all this about the 9-3 and 9-1 is true then I firmly believe that GM is about to ditch the Saab brand.
Yup, the no new 9-3 thing, if true, could be a pretty good indicator that they’re looking to sell… I know someone had a theory a few months ago that would make sense… Build the new 9-5 and use it as a lure to sell Saab, and then let the new guys take care of replacing the 9-3.
-Rogan
Rogan, just like For did with Jaguar.
The only problem with that scenario is that the new 9-5 is built by Opel in Germany so its not like you could up and move production to Sweden is it?
Have you seen that Jag XF – woof its a sexy beast!?
Rogan: That was my theory about the new 9-5. I still have a gut feeling that it will be used as a bargaining chip to sell Saab. At the very least it will spell a powerful change of direction for the brand. I just hope that Saab goes somewhere and does something. It seems like it has been stagnant for so long.
If Saab was to be sold, I think that a deal would be struck to supply the 9-5 from Opel for around 5 years or so, leaving the new owner to concentrate on other new models at Trollhattan.
I think this is similar to what Ford is doing with Jaguar for the XF. Of course other models when they arrive, would unlikely be GM based and probably after 5 years or so, the 9-5 would again be replaced using the new owner’s architecture.
Like most things in life, the truth more or less lies between these two extremes.
I’ll bet that some things are delayed and some things are changed, but others aren’t.
I’m inclined to believe that the developments that are more or less complete are still on track and the others that are longer term have been suspended in favor of more immediate pay back projects.
Counter to the comments above, suspending development on specific near-term models likely means that they will NOT sell. Think about it — who would buy a car company that has nothing going on? You buy a car company for what’s in the pipeline, especially a small-volume OEM like Saab.
Think about selling a house — you don’t turn off the A/C and let the yard grow. You paint, you shine, you fix the things that are broken, etc. That is, you actually turn UP spending just a little to make the asset seem more valuable and more attractive than it was just a few months ago. Companies are no different.
GM wants to keep Saab. Saab is a great brand to build on. If they sell it’s because the banks will force them to AFTER the bankruptcy is declared.
s (oh bugger!!!!) but Saab held on to that hatchback for far too long! *hides behind the sofa expecting a massive barrage of abuse*
The original 900 hatchback took ages to put together. So much so that it was almost handbuilt and in 1988 Saab sales slowed down and it was GM that saved the bacon. The GM 900 was beautifully designed but it was not a Saab. Where did the sharp handling of the T16 go? The ride was bloody awful and it rolled like a boat in a force 10 gale.
I really dont have a solution to Saabs current problems. The 9-5 should have been out in 2005 and we should be looking at a new 9-3 in 2009 and that baby Saab in late 2010 but GM appears to have lost interest and I feel its too late now. Whats the point of introducing an SUV that nobody wants?
GM has trampled all over Saab’s brand image by trying to sell Cadillacs in Europe. GM has obviously screwed up with this strategy (dont even get me started on the pickup truck and SUV debacle) and now the whole company is in the sh*t.
It hurts me so much to say this but I think Saab is toast. GM doesnt know how to market the company properly and now its too damned late.
I sure hope I am wrong though. I love my Saab and really want to be able t replace it in about 6 years with a 9-5 that is about three years old. I hope it happens!!
In the 80s Saab was iconic as BMW is today. The 900 T16S was the 330i of 1987 with its sharp handling, speed and the fact that yuppies loved it. Saab sales slowed down in 1988 for some unknown reason and over for some reason Saab stopped listening to the market and told folks what they wanted. I hate to say this but Saab held on to that hatchback for far too long! *hides behind the sofa expecting a massive barrage of abuse*
The original 900 hatchback took ages to put together. So much so that it was almost handbuilt and in sales slowed down and it was GM that saved the bacon. The GM 900 was beautifully designed but it was not a Saab. Where did the sharp handling of the T16 go? The ride was bloody awful and it rolled like a boat in a force 10 gale.
I really dont have a solution to Saabs current problems. The 9-5 should have been out in 2005 and we should be looking at a new 9-3 in 2009 and that baby Saab in late 2010 but GM appears to have lost interest and I feel its too late now. Whats the point of introducing an SUV that nobody wants?
GM has trampled all over Saab’s brand image by trying to sell Cadillacs in Europe. GM has obviously screwed up with this strategy (dont even get me started on the pickup truck and SUV debacle) and now the whole company is in the sh*t.
It hurts me so much to say this but I think Saab is toast. GM doesnt know how to market the company properly and now its too damned late.
I sure hope I am wrong though. I love my Saab and really want to be able t replace it in about 6 years with a 9-5 that is about three years old. I hope it happens!!
Saab managed to sell the C900 for a very long time because it became attained a quirky cult following somewaht akin to the original VW Beetle. For some reason the hatchback models were the most popular, possibly because they were the most quirky? Anyway the C900 still managed to sell in reasonable numbers right up until it’s ultimate replacement. By then the 2 door and 4 door sedan models had been discontinued for some time and only the hatches remained. The GM900 came at a bad time because there really wasn’t a suitable platform available, especially for a premium car.
It had to make do with a hotch potch of leftover parts from cheaper GM models that were a far cry from being in the premium or prestige category. Saab did it’s best with these bits, but itis now widely recognized that it needed another year to get it right.
With the benefit of hindsight, I think C900 production should have been continued for another year whilst Saab got the new platform sorted or perhaps better still, Saab should have premiered the platform used in the upcoming mid nineties Vectra. This would’ve delayed the GM900 even further, but it might have been a much better car for it?
The Saab 9000 still sold well right up until it’s demise, but the same can’t be said for the 9-5 which is now selling in almost hand built numbers. I think this will happen much sooner for the 9-3 SS.
If Saab try to sell it beyond 2010, it will have the same problem it has with the current 9-5 and it certainly doesn’t the cult status or quirkyness to fall back on.
Who knows what will happen with Saab. I’m sure whatever happens, they’ll still be making good cars, but I want those cars to be as good as they can be. The 9-3 replacment better be coming very soon and it better be very good, because sales of that model are only going to continue falling until a full redesign comes along. Since the 9-3 is Saab’s highest volume car, it needs to be competitive.
Here’s an example. The B6 Audi A4 came along a year AFTER the 9-3 SS. It got a much more thorough facelift than the 9-3 just recieved, and got a whole new stable of engines for 2005.5 with the B7 revision. Now, Audi just released the B8, which is a completely new design, despite sharing some previous engines.
I know Saab doesn’t have the resources to run this kind of schedule, but they need to make some attempt to be competitive. The 9-3 SS is a great car, but sales will dwindle with a design that old. It’s just life.
-Rogan
Three things…
1) GM North America and GM Europe are two different things. Under the circumstances, GME is probably doing fine. With such a lean operation today, most of Saab’s losses surely must come from R&D. Opel is probably on break even, and Chevrolet (aka Daewoo) is selling like crazy.
2) From what I have seen in Swedish media, journos are just repeating what has been said in publications like the Automotive News. I haven’t actually seen any quote from anyone at Saab or even GME about this. Does it affect all brands or just GM North America (an entity that is obviously bleeding)? Has it something to do with the negotiations with Chrysler and/or US Government?
3) Autotelegraaf seems to have had a lot of Saab news in the past, and it have been close to the truth as far as I can remember. Maybe they do have a good source a Saab for some reason?
Eggs,
What you said were “eggs-xactly” what I was thinking. GM would not position Saab for sale unless it “fattened the calf [or your preferred livestock]” first. Suspending or delaying development of new and/or replacement models would definitely hold no appeal to prospective suitors.
In addition, I firmly believe GM has no real benefits selling Saab brand. It’s their only global “conquest brand” (along with Caddy these days) and the best instrument in their arsenal to bring over would-be buyers looking at competing brands.
At this point I wouldn’t consider Saab to be toast, but they are in dire need of extreme changes and fast. The brand has so much potential primarily because they are mostly considered to be the car that you never heard of. So they don’t have a strong presence in the marketplace and people seem to be totally unaware of the brands identity. Almost everywhere I go when people see my 9-3SS from the side, they instantly say “what is that a BMW?” Saab needs an “Extreme Make Over” right now and I think if it happens soon we would all be very surprised of the growth they could achieve.
Perhaps everyone has missed the heading of this thread “Saab is working according to plan”. If that is the case and there aren’t going to be any model delays, then maybe just maybe, they are being prepped for sale? Better that than retirement or just being left to die…