The good news – it’s only got 25 miles on the clock and it’s selling for $29,000!!!

The not-so-good news – it’s an auto. Not ideal, but I’ve been in an auto at 170k/h – on dirt – in a Turbo-X so they’re still quite capable.

The story – apparently a few cars suffered some ‘minor’ hail damage while they were sitting at the port. They were all fully repaired by Saab and auctioned off to dealers by SaabUSA. This is one of those cars. it doesn’t say “hail damage” on the title, it’s all clear, and it comes with the full warranty, etc.

Not a bad opportunity, that. The car’s physical location is in New York. The online location is on Ebay.

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There’s two ways to look at Saab Australia’s sales for November.

The glass half empty: they only sold 80 cars this month, despite offering huge loyalty discounts to current Saab owners and a great sub-$50,000 deal on Vector Sport models (extended to Dec 31).

The glass half full: they sold twice as many in November as what they did in October!!

Woohoo!!

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I’m not sure whether to laugh or cry at this one. Scanned from his local newspaper and sent it by Saabob in Canada:

Only 38 left……..

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Here it is:

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A conference call will be held on Tuesday, December 2 at 5:30 p.m. ET to provide an overview to media of the plan for long-term viability that General Motors submitted to the U.S. Congress. The call will conclude 60 minutes later at approximately 6:30 p.m. ET.

A copy of the plan and a press release will be posted on the GM media and investor sites at approximately 5 pm, as soon as it has been received by Congress.

Rick Wagoner, GM chairman and CEO, and Fritz Henderson, GM president and COO, will host the call. Participants can listen to the presentation live via conference call.

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I’ll be at work and won’t be able to listen in, but a download of the plan will be made available, so I guess I’ll be looking for that.

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I can’t remember a time in the last 4 years where US sales were only in three digits for the month. Maybe it happened once after the Employee Pricing sale in 2005, when they were giving cars away and dealers literally didn’t have any stock left.

For November 2008, SaabUSA sold 852 vehicles in total, down over 50% on the 2,003 vehicles sold during the same month last year.

There were 606 units of the 9-3 sold, down from 1,432 last year.

There were 111 units of the 9-5 sold, down from 261 last year.

There were 135 units of the 9-7x sold, down from 310 last year.

Saab sales were own by 57.5% over all for the month, and are down 32.6% so far for this year in the US.

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The Swedish car sales market was, as a whole, down by 36% compared to last year. For the year to date, the market is down by 14%. So if you were expecting a better month for Saab sales, please think again.

Just remember, things are tough all over.

Saab sales

Saab Sweden sold 908 units of the Saab 9-3 during November, which was down 42% for the month, from 1,557 in the same month last year. So far in 2008, there have been 11,946 units of the Saab 9-3 sold. This is down 4.25% on the 12,477 sold to this point last year (but falling fast)

They also sold 427 units of the Saab 9-5 during the month, down by 51% from the 877 sold in the sme month last year. So far in 2008, there have been 6,764 units of the Saab 9-5 sold in Sweden, which is down by 31.65% from the 9,897 sold to this point last year.

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Green report

There were 698 Saab 9-3 Biopower models sold during the month compared with 1,285 in November last year. The 9-3 BioPower is still the second best selling ‘green’ car in Sweden.

There were 375 Saab 9-5 BioPower models sold during the month, which was down from 728 sold in the same month last year.

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The Caddilac report

That bastion of strength and banner of wisdom, the Cadillac BLS, didn’t even rate on the report that I saw, but ctm tells me that there were 4 units sold, which was down from the 6 sold last year.

Money well spent.

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I don’t know how to approach this delicately. In past years when there was a prolific downturn in sales I would have got up on my high horse and demanded all sorts of heads roll and tasks undertaken. Right now, I just feel a whole bunch of sad on behalf of some good people that I’ve met in person, am pleased to know (if only just a little), who work on behalf of Saab here in Australia.

I’d better get to the numbers, I guess. In October last year, Saab sold 77 vehicles, which was a shock. In September 2008 (last month), Saab Australia sold just 40 vehicles, which I figured was about as low as it could go.

This month, there were only 26 Saabs sold in Australia. Percentages don’t mean a lot at this stage.

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As I said, there’s no ranting here. There’s nothing much to say.

Saab Oz are facing numerous problems and I don’t think they’re getting too much help with them.

For starters, there’s the fact that what was formerly just Saab Australia has had Hummer lobbed on its plate and I don’t think they’ve received a boost in financial or human resources that matches the extra load. You can add Cadillac to that shortly, as well.

Second, there’s the Volkswagen Eos.

The 9-3 Convertible makes up a good proportion of Saab’s sales here in Australia and the Eos is eating its lunch. It’s cheaper, it’s a four-seater and it’s a trendy hard top (I’m still a soft-top guy myself, but the hardtop is the one making waves).

If Saab want to thnk of a product they need to prioritise, there’s a good candidate.

Best wishes to Saab Oz for a better November.

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Holy cow. All companies had negative sales during Red October, but GM took the cake amongst the bigger companies with sales dropping f-o-r-t-y-f-i-v-e percent in October.

Given that the arse fell out of GM’s sales so dramatically, it’s pleasantly surprising to report that Saab sales actually bucked this trend. They were still down for the month, but at only 13% down, it almost feels like a win!

There were 1,975 Saab sold in the US market during October, a 13.2% drop from the 2,275 sold there at the same time last year.

Year to date, there have been 19,337 Saabs sold in the US, which is still a massive 30.8% drop on the 27,960 sold last year.

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Saab 9-3

SaabUSA sold 1,471 units of the Saab 9-3, down by 12.3% on the 1,677 units sold this time last year.

Interestingly, in the press release, it says the following about Saab and the 9-3 in particular:

Saab retail sales were up 7.4 percent compared with a year ago, driven by the strong retail performance of the 9-3, which was up more than 16 percent.

Retail sales were up by 7.4? Retail 9-3 sales were up by 16? What are the non-retail sales, and how far did they fall through the floor to lead the brand down over all?

I suspect they’re sales to GM employees, etc, which if I remember correctly were going to be restricted for MY09. Perhaps that’s taking hold? If so, those employee sales must ba making up a significant chunk of the total.

Saab 9-5

Saab USA sold 188 units of the Saab 9-5, down from 282 this time last year. That’s a fall of 33%.

Saab 9-7x

The Saab 9-7x was stable in October, selling 316 units – the exact same number it sold this time last year.

The 9-7x was most likely boosted in the second half of October by a gasoline price that fell to below $3 a gallon.

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There were also 506 Saab Certified Pre-owned vehicles sold, which was down by 2%.

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From the press release:

[GM's PR guru, Mark] LaNeve announced that GM’s no-haggle Red Tag Event starts nationwide tomorrow, Nov. 4. The Red Tag Event will provide great deals on most new vehicles in GM’s portfolio by offering a special Red Tag vehicle price and customer cash back. In addition, GM’s recently announced “Financing That Fits” program enables consumers to find financing at affordable rates from GMAC and thousands of other banks, credit unions and financing institutions.

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A few days ago, Robert Farago wrote at TTAC according to one of his sources, an announcement would come from GM on Monday that would effectively put Saab and GMC on the same starvation plan as HUMMER.

Farago expanded on his doomsday scenario for Saab yesterday when he asked how come you can’t build a 2009 Saab on the SaabUSAA website?

Monday’s come and gone in the US and guess what – nothing. Well, that’s not quite true. There was something…..

I got an email from Jan-Willem Vester at SaabUSA indicating that the delay in getting the 2009 models on the website was primarily due to them using a new vendor for the “Build your own” section of the website. It’s not ready yet, but should be by around mid-November.

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GM’s other brands in the US were down during October, as follows:

Cadillac 55.1%,
Buick 46.3%,
Chevy 40.3%,
GMC 52.5%,
Pontiac 48.2%
Saturn 54.6%
Hummer 64.6%

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So with that in mind, it’s time for a look at Swedish sales data for October. We know it’s going to be down on last year (as is everything else). The question is, by how much?

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Saab 9-3

Saab Sweden sold 1,305 units of the Saab 9-3 in October, down 23% from 1,698 last year. Year to date, the Saab 9-3 is actually up by 1%, though: 11,038 for this year vs 10,920 last year.

The Saab 9-3 was still the #2 seller for the month in Sweden, and is the #2 seller for the year so far.

Saab 9-5

Saab Sweden sold 677 units of the Saab 9-5 in October, down by 31% from the 983 sold in the same month last year. Saab 9-5 sales are down by 29% for the year so far, with 6,337 sold this year vs 9,020 sold at this time last year.

The Saab 9-5, despite the down year, is now stable at #6 in the Swedish market.

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The Saab 9-3 BioPower is also the #2 “green” car sold in Sweden, behind the Volvo V70II flexfuel.

The Saab 9-5 BioPower is the #4 “green” car in Sweden.

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The Cadillac BLS is stable at #100 in the Swedish market, having sold 17 units in October, a huge increase on the 12 sold in the same month last year.

There’s been 343 sold this year, it’s second calendar year on sale and first full year.

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But hey, Saab sales in Russia were up 90% in Q3 of this year!!! That’s got to be a good thing? And there’s more good news, too…..

Saab satisfaction in Germany

A recent poll of car buyers in the German market by automobile club, ADAC, surveyed their levels of customer satisfaction and especially satisfaction with the car itself and experiences with the garage service (quality of the work, costs, friendliness of the employees and consulting competence).

I’m not sure exactly what the numbers mean, but I’ve been told the lower the number, the better. Here are the results (we non-Euro types should put a decimal where the comma is):

Subaru 1,23
Jaguar 1,26
Porsche 1,29
Honda 1,34
Dacia 1,35
Toyota 1,35
Mazda 1,38
Saab 1,41
Mitsubishi 1,41
Daihatsu 1,41
Suzuki 1,45
Volvo 1,45
Skoda 1,47
Alfa Romeo 1,48
BMW 1,49
Audi 1,5
Hyundai 1,52
Chrysler 1,6
Nissan 1,63
Mercedes 1,63
Seat 1,68
Citroën 1,68
Kia 1,71
Opel 1,72
Ford 1,72
VW 1,76
Smart 1,81
Fiat 1,83
Land Rover 1,86
Peugeot 1,89

That’s pretty good placement, knocking over many of the revered Germans themselves!

Thanks Alexandros and Marc!!

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Third Quarter Sales Data 2008

GM’s global 3Q sales data is in and indeed, Saab were up 90% in the third quarter in the Russian market. But that’s just about where the good news ends.

Saab global sales were down in the third quarter by 29.3% (20,938 this year vs 29,633 last year). For the full year so far, Saab’s global sales are down by 21.1% (75,453 this year vs 95,620 last year). Bets on reaching 100,000 in 2008?

Saab’s sales in Latin America and the Middle East were UP by 5.6% in Q3, but are down by 0.6% for the year to date (349 cars this year vs 351 last year).

Saab’s sales in Europe (incl UK) were down 25.9% in Q3 (14,292 vs 19,296) and are down by 16.7% year to date (53,805 vs 64,604)

Saab’s sales in Asia Pacific were down 34.4% in Q3 and are down 18% year to date.

Saab’s sales in North America were down 36.3% in Q3 (5,912 vs 9,284) and are down 31.9% year to date (18,837 vs 27,661)

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Yes, there are even some good Saab sales stories out there.

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One market where Saab sales have been defying the global trend is the Russian market.

During September 2008, there were 133 Saabs sold in Russia, which is 125% up on the same month last year, when only 59 were sold.

Year to date, they’ve sold 1,014 Saabs there, which is 84% higher than the 551 sold to September 2007.

It’s a relief to have some pleasant Saab sales news from somewhere. Thanks Alexey!

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There’s no Saab sales singled out in the press release, but GM’s Latin America, Africa and Middle East section (known as GM LAAM) have just recorded a record third quarter of sales. In fact, they’ve had 20 consecutive quarters of growth now, which is a good thing I guess.

And as an aside, I think it’s amusing that they’ve called it GM LAAM instead of the more complete and accurate GM LAAME

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Saab in the UK are having an employee pricing sale. You get the employee pricing discount, as well as a bonus offer of either 0% financing (someone forgot to tell them about the credit crunch), a finance deposit allowance or a trade in allowance.

The employee pricing discount on a 9-3 Vector TTiD sedan is £2,753.00, which brings the price down to £23,117.00

All the details are at Saab GB’s Home of Saab Offers.

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Potential Saab owners in South Korea are getting in on the act as well. I can’t get all the details as it’s a subcription article at Just Auto. The blurb reads as follows:

GM Korea has announced that it will be offering to pay customers’ acquisition taxes, as well as throw in free navigation systems and special discounts for selected Cadillac and Saab models until the end of the month.

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And Aussie Saab owners can still benefit from a special extra Saab loyalty bonus if they trade up to a new Saab.

The bonus is so secret that they’re not advertising, preferring to contact those they perceive as potential buyers by phone. I haven’t even been able to convince one of my contacts to divulge the amounts on offer, such is the secrecy.

So if you’re here in Oz and you have a Saab to trade up, ring your dealer and ask for the super-duper special loyalty bonus.

Then email me and tell me how much it is

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But this is just…….just……….stabworthy.

In 2007, Saab Australia sold 1862 vehicles and it looked like they were on the front foot, moving forward. That year, we had great 60th anniversary models and a 2008 vehicle waiting in the wings. Things were looking up.

In 2008, that new model hasn’t been well received, despite it’s improvements and the new TTiD engine being available, and Saab are only going to break the 1,000 sales mark in the 10th month of the year. There’s a good chance they’ll struggle to break 1,300 sales this year.

Saab Australia sold just 40 vehicles in September 2008. That’s a massive 79% fall from the same month last year. Saab are down 37% for the year in total, with 967 vehicles having found a home so far this year.

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For those who are interested, here’s a chart of the Australian sales for September. The data is sorted in descending order by sales for that month.

Ay Carumba.

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From Marketing Week comes news that GM, like other car companies all over the world, are slashing their ad spend:

General Motors (GM), which owns brands that include Chevrolet, Opel, Saab and Vauxhall, is to cut 20% of its managerial overheads. Alain Visser, chief marketing officer for General Motors Europe, is one of the group managers facing a pay cut.

According to one of GM’s roster agencies, Visser has instructed agencies to “cut marketing spend to a minimum and focus on highlighting the strengths of individual cars in the most minimalist methods possible.”

File that under “reasons why now is a bad time to be blending Saab, Cadillac and Hummer”.

I need to fill in some gaps in my own data, but I’ve got an idea about looking at Saab sales here in Australia in the last few years (i.e. pre- and post-Hummer). Saab Australia was turfed out and GM Premium brands was formed in its place to accommodate the arrival of Hummer and Cadillac (and possibly Corvette in the future).

Whilst the number of brands doubled in 2008, I’m pretty sure the human and financial resources would have stayed pretty much the same.

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I absolutely love the 2008 Saab 9-3. It’s an improved car in so many ways compared to the previous generation, but I don’t think there’s any doubt that the buying public haven’t taken to it. Sales are way down in the US (where there’s a number of factors at play), they’re down by less in Sweden, and they took an absolute caning last month in the UK.

Saab sold 2,186 vehicles in the UK last month, which was a massive 47% drop from the 4,095 sold in the same month last year.

Forty Seven Percent.

The whole industry is down, of course, but the total market was down only 21%.

Sales were down for every company in the US last month, but there were a handful of companies that recorded sales increases in the UK. Amazingly, Hummer were one of them. As were Audi, Smart, Jaguar and MG. Yes, MG. They found 9 MG’s to sell last month, as opposed to 1 in the same month last year.

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And in something totally unrelated to sales, there’s been a fair bit of coverage in the last few days of the Sony-Saab hookup in the 9-X Air.

Connected via Bluetooth, the Xperia X1 is able to control ambient lighting, front and rear seat settings, lock the car, open the trunk and even turn on your signal lights as well as headlamps. Take that, iPhone!

And there’s even a groovy picture. Click.

Thanks, Alex!

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Saab were down in Europe overall, too, though the GM Europe press release doesn’t say how much by, which is part of the gentle art of press releases.

I’m sure the corks are popping in GM Europe’s Cadillac offices, though:

Saab sold 53,805 cars in Europe from January-September 2008. Cadillac sales grew by 3.1 percent to 3,746 units compared to 2007 and HUMMER volume was up 9.5 percent to 1,781 units.

Remember, that’s 3,746 vehicles for all of Europe. I’d love to see the marketing-doller-per-vehicle calculations for that one.

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The Viggens are having a bad 12 months or so. I crashed mine, WooDz is selling his, Richo’s exposing his to a new Teutonic mistress and now there’s another one for sale.

My T-shirt partner and good friend Ivan in Hungary is selling his in order to get some money in for future family stuff. You know, mature grown-up stuff that doesn’t involve fast irresponsible cars.

I hope it goes well, mate, and if any of you are in the vicinity then you should check it out as it’s one superhot mama!!

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