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Knut Simonsson in Autovisie, recently:
We knew for a long time that 2008 and 2009 would be lean years for Saab. Actually, these years internally were called just that: The Lean Years.
I’m pretty sure that in all the time that I’ve been writing this website, the Saab 9-3 has been at #2 in the Swedish sales figures. Up unitl recently, the Saab 9-5 has been solid at #4, though that changed through 2008 as more flexfuel vehicles made their way onto the Swedish market.
It was a little bit of a shock, then, to see that the decline of the 9-3 when I looked up the Swedish sales figures for January 2009.
Saab Sweden sold just 439 units of the Saab 9-3 during January. This was a massive 61% drop from the 11,35 sold in the same month last year. I know Saab set their forecasts for lean times, but this lean?
There were 220 units of the Saab 9-5 sold. This was another huge fall – 68% down on the 694 vehicles sold in 2008.
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The 9-3 was still the #2 vehicle in the ‘green’ sales tables, with 307 vehicles sold. The 9-5 was #5.
——
Um.
Suggestions?
18 responses so far ↓
1 Dippen
// Feb 2, 2009 at 8:11 pm
January usually is a tough period , people are coming back from x-mas and NY with no money in their pockets.
Also a lot of doom news in the Swedish media has kept potential buyers away.Also the news of lay offs is a factor.
It cant be more worse than this and i do expect some upturn in March or at least the fall of sales has stabilized .
only my 0.02..
2 Pedro
// Feb 2, 2009 at 8:15 pm
The main driver is the economy with registrations dropping 34% in January (from today’s Dagens Industri: “Under januari sjönk nybilsregisteringarna med 33,7 procent, enligt statistik från branschorganisationen Bil Sweden.”) but the newsflow about the Swedish Auto Industry hasn’t helped… who would buy a car if the manufacturer is percieved as being as good as dead?
3 Aero
// Feb 2, 2009 at 8:51 pm
Audi A4 (new model) dropped by 48% and Audi A6 (Facelifted) dropped by 58%. It’s not helping Saab but it might show that Saab is not the only one dropping in volumes and that new models are not equil to higher sales figures today. But what worries me is the marketshare figure, Saab is now down to 5,8% (10,7 Jan 2008) Shit.
4 bjorn n
// Feb 2, 2009 at 9:16 pm
while the politicians and the GM people are sending out political messages that they believe strengthen their negotiation positions the consumer gets the impression that the company will sink.
Who would spend 30000-40000 on something that in a very short time might not exist anymore?
Bying a dying product is not something that the car buyer wants to do, or even want to be seen in.
5 2.0T XWD
// Feb 2, 2009 at 10:02 pm
Surely now is the right time to buy a Saab – now is when we are most needed as customers! If Saab survive (as I am sure they will) we will have a happy glow inside and good karma, if they go under, then at least we have something rather special to remember a once excellent company with.
I have walked the walk and just collected a 2009 9-3 XWD, expensive, risky perhaps, but I needed the car now and could not risk missing out on a Saab (and having to buy an Audi or ovlov).
6 Ken H
// Feb 2, 2009 at 10:09 pm
The facelift of the 9-3 did not help, did it? One could almost be tempted to call it a waste of money…
7 WooDz
// Feb 2, 2009 at 10:37 pm
Ken H:
The face lift was a must and externally the 9-3 looks a lot more modern and also has a “Clam-shell” hood. The LED head-lighing really makes this car stand out and is now very recognisable as a Saab as opposed to looking a bit GM generic. Some may not like the ice-block style but in the right colour it gives the car a certain edge over the normal red filter offerings from the competition.
It was face-lifted at the 5 year point and it would be nice to hope that a new 9-3 is only 2-3 years away. In the meantime we can look forward to a 9-3x, 9-5 SportSedan, 9-5 SportCombi and the 9-4x. There might even be enough room for a 9-5x in there??? However; one thing SAAB really needs to work on is bringing their engine emissions in line with other manufacturers.
Apple considers itself ecologically responsible too, so SAAB should be thinking on the same lines one would think.
8 Per
// Feb 2, 2009 at 11:27 pm
Total car sales in Norway were don 14,4% in 2008 against top year 2007. Both GM brands SAAB and OPEL were down over 40%…
9 ctm
// Feb 3, 2009 at 1:11 am
The Audi figures were kind of a surprise. I also noted that the first Opel is down in places 22. And the BWM 3-series got a hit as well. Gonna be an interesting year.
Also of note. No BLS sold in January in Sweden.
Subaru sales were up 60% and their market share up from 0.94% to 2.27%. Some spokesperson from Subaru replied that he didn’t really understood the gloom. Sweden has gone through the financial crises very good so far. Sure, lots of people have been advised that they could loose their jobs, but how many will actually loose them after the negotiations are another matter and seldom reported in the media. They just likes to shout about the first big figures. Most people have higher salary and lower tax this year again. In my opinion there are too much negative BS from the media about this, and that people just go with the mood without thinking.
10 Paul Guinnessy
// Feb 3, 2009 at 3:00 am
One other thing to think about, a lot of people will be coming off their leases later this year (myself included). According to my paperwork I can buy the car in October for 15.8K, yet I can get a later version of the same 9-3 Sportcombi for 12-13K from a dealer on eBay now. In the past, most people would simply lease again, but with the lease deals now as longer good as they were, and the price of the car you’ve been driving so high in comparison to the market, what can Saab will do to combat this? Plus most companies are telling their staff fun news such as they can only guarantee salaries for the next three months. What would you do? I’d downgrade just to be extra cautious (only catch is I like my car so much I might buy it anyway).
11 Fasttrader
// Feb 3, 2009 at 4:39 am
One reason is the general economic crisis.
Another – Saab-specific – reason is the uncernity about the future of Saab. Or would you buy a product from a carmaker which is possibly going to die tomorrow? IF the Saab-situation had been the same last year I cannot promise that I had bought the Turbo X, despite the fact that it is a great car…
12 turbin
// Feb 3, 2009 at 6:16 am
“The facelift of the 9-3 did not help, did it? One could almost be tempted to call it a waste of money…”
Without it the figures would be much much worse.
13 Per
// Feb 3, 2009 at 7:53 am
Total car sales Jan 09 in Norway down 45,9%. Opel only down 9,3%. Hyundai up more than 100%. Saab doesn’t show, It only shows top ten brands. But remember these numbers are tiny, not to many people in Norway.
14 Ken H
// Feb 3, 2009 at 8:04 am
turbin – you mean worse like in “zero”?
I seriously don’t think Saab did the facelift just to make the car look more modern, the objective is of course to make the car more attractive so sales can benefit. Obviously this has not happened, hence one can argue the facelift was in vain.
And quite honestly, the facelift version looks messy. The front is just too edgy compared with the rear half. Maybe potential buyers agreed and went somewhere else…?
15 turbin
// Feb 3, 2009 at 9:17 am
Ken H,
I don’t agree with you but that’s fine. I think marketing or lack of has everything to do with sales. Most cars do not sell themselves on good looks, look at BMW. Whether you disagree that the facelift looks good or not, and I have had many agree that it does, alot of people will buy any ill-designed crap if it is promoted well enough. And the current 9-3 does not fit that description.
I have a photo of my 06 combi next to my 08 at time of changeover. I would not have liked to see last years figures based on selling the old design
I can only speak for the Australian market but marketing and advertising here has been all over the place like a dog’s breakfast. Dealers have dumped Saab due to conflicts over the ( now canceled ) release of Cadillac. There are other dealers that have set up ‘premium’ showrooms but promote themselves in the crassest of ways. GM and Saab do not fit.
16 zippy
// Feb 3, 2009 at 12:31 pm
I dont agree that the facelift for the 9-3 was a waste of time. As we can see everyone is down.
17 Kroum
// Feb 3, 2009 at 12:52 pm
The facelift of the 9-3 was a good thing period. The pre-2008 model does still look very classy, but compared to what everyone else has on offer it is just too stale.
I wish they would have also “facelifted” the interior; instead they just lifted the radio unit from a Daewoo. But hopefully it helped Saab cut costs and face the sales dive with more preparedness.
18 James B
// Feb 3, 2009 at 3:53 pm
I think all sales are down in this specific market of autos. In the US market, I’ve been puzzled why the opportunities of the SAAB ideals are not pushed. America’s going green and looking for change and I see no movement to tout the Diesel technology or biofuel technology shown on the Swedish and other European corporate sites. I’ve seen so much good advertising from VW and Audi. Be Swedish and shout it out!