IMPORTANT NEWS: National Electric Vehicle Sweden has agreed to buy the assets of Saab Automobile and the sale is expected to be finalized during the summer.

Tuesday, August 16, 2011

Swedish dealers keep the faith in Saab?

Last week we was told by DI that several Swedish Saab dealers were on the verge on giving up on Saab. Now SvD has spoken to a few random dealers and asked if they are considering dropping Saab:


Fredrik Mård, sales manager Bilcenter in Nyköping: "The idea to phase out the brand has been mentioned but we are still optimistic. So far all the balls are in the air and the customers have not yet begun to cancel the cars that they have ordered but time is of essence."


Fredrik Mård, sales manager at Bilcenter
Michael Nordberg, CEO of Svenska Bil AB: "At the present we will keep Saab but we have plans to find other alternatives. Time is running out. New car sales have come to a standstill and people who have ordered a Saab are now starting to cancel the order."

Anders Carlsson, head of sales Bilpartner Skåne: "We will not phase out the brand. Last week we sold three Saabs, and in July we delivered seven or eight. Now we have 50 or so cars in order. Before the summer holiday a couple of customers cancelled their order."

Benny Holmgren, CEO Holmgrens Bil: "We have no focus on Saab today, instead we concentrate on things we can make money on. There are very few who order a Saab from us, so order intake is negligible."

Pär Wennberg, site manager Carstedts in Umeå: "It's not so long since we started selling Saab, so we are fairly new in terms of the brand. At the workshop everything runs as usual but on the sales side not much is happening. Now we await and hope for the best."

So can we say that four out of five dealers still have faith in Saab?




Also worth noting is that SvD claims that sources with insight into the process of the Chinese National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC), which decides if Youngman and Pang Da will be allowed to invest in Saab, say that a decision can come sooner than we have expected. Maybe already within a month!