Viscouse
25-09-03, 05:09 PM
Taken from: http://www.detnews.com/2003/autosinsider/0309/25/b01-280710.htm
By John McCormick / Special to The Detroit News
After languishing on the sidelines for years, Swedish automaker Saab will add three new models over the next two years.
The new product offensive by parent General Motors Corp. is a bid to stoke demand and reverse losses that are undermining GM's overall performance in Europe.
In 2002, GM Europe, which also includes Opel, lost $549 million, with Saab accounting for about $500 million in red ink.
Saab CEO Peter Augustsson has undertaken various cost-cutting and restructuring moves, but acknowledges that Saab's real problem is too few models.
"Despite the fact that our 9-5 and 9-3 sedans are good cars," Augustsson said, "the problem is that the business model won't work at our sales volume."
The latest generation of the Saab 9-3 has been well-received, especially in North America. But Saab's global sales have been bumping along at about 120,000 units annually -- too low to sustain the brand. The new goal for Saab is to top 200,000 units a year.
"To do that," said Bob Lutz, GM vice chairman for product development, "Saab needs GM help."
That assistance will come from two GM sources. The automaker's North American operation is providing the "GMT360" platform, the underpinning for the Chevrolet Trailblazer and Buick Rainier SUVs, for the 9-7X, a mid-sized Saab sport utility vehicle due on sale in early 2005.
And GM is leveraging its 20 percent stake in Fuji Heavy Industries Ltd, which owns the Subaru brand, to create the Saab 9-2X, a premium small car designed to appeal to younger buyers, that will be the Swedish automaker's first all-wheel drive model.
The 9-2X will make its public debut at the Los Angeles auto show in January. Production is expected to begin next spring at a Fuji plant in Japan and the vehicle should be on sale in the United States by summer.
Based closely on Subaru's Impreza hatchback, but with distinctive Saab front-end styling, the 9-2X is designed to compete in a growing sub-$30,000 segment, with existing or upcoming entry-level luxury models, such as the Audi A3 and BMW 1 Series.
Two variants of the five-door 9-2X will be offered: a base, 2.5-liter four-cylinder version and a more powerful Aero model with a 2.0-liter, 227-hp turbocharged four-cylinder engine. Both powertrains are made by Subaru.
Like the 9-2X, the larger 9-7X will have clear styling differentiation from its Chevrolet cousin.
"The mid-luxury SUV market is growing fast and we need to catch up," said Augustsson, who points out that 20 percent of current Saab customers are defecting to SUVs.
Saab is targeting another SUV-related segment with the 9-3 Sport Hatch. Based on GM's Epsilon platform -- the basis for the 9-3 sedan, Opel Vectra and the 2004 Chevrolet Malibu -- the 9-3 Sport Hatch was unveiled as a concept at this month's Frankfurt auto show.
"It's a crossover between a sporty hatchback and a wagon," said Michael Mauer, Saab design chief.
With four seats, a power tailgate and a high performance 250-horsepower, 2.0-liter turbo-charged engine, the 9-3 Sport-Hatch is aimed at a different audience than the larger, roomier 9-7X and should do well in Europe, Lutz said. A production version will be in showrooms in spring 2005.
For now, Saab is benefiting from the 9-3's strong sales performance.
In the United States, which accounts for 35 percent of Saab's global volume, the 9-3 has helped the brand achieve its best results in 47 years, with sales through August up by 17 percent.
Debra Kelly-Ennis, president of Saab Cars USA, said one of chief reasons for the new 9-3's sales success is its sedan design, which appeals to American tastes much more than the previous generation's hatchback styling.
Kelly-Ennis expects the 9-3 to help Saab break the 40,000 unit sales mark in the United States this year, which would be a record for the brand, although it is still only a fifth of the sales volume being tallied by other leading European makes. And Saab's sales growth is coming without heavy reliance on incentives, she said.
"In fact, we are one of only four companies in the United States to reduce incentives recently," Kelly-Ennis said.
The 9-3 lineup will get another boost this fall with the launch of a new convertible version.
With a much stiffer chassis than its predecessor and numerous other improvements, Saab hopes the new model will deliver a larger share of the growing entry luxury convertible market.
While the convertible will be a very important halo model for Saab, significant growth in demand depends on the success of the GM-based sport utility model. European critics of GM's Saab rescue strategy say the company has taken too long to mend its only brand with a global footprint.
The 9-2X -- dubbed the "Saabaru" by some auto writers -- and the 9-7X are seen by some as stop gap measures, rather than true Saabs.
But Lutz counters charges that the Swedish automaker's identity will be diluted by GM involvement.
"GM is dedicated to growing Saab in the right way," he stressed. "The new vehicles will be engineered to drive and feel like Saabs."
By John McCormick / Special to The Detroit News
After languishing on the sidelines for years, Swedish automaker Saab will add three new models over the next two years.
The new product offensive by parent General Motors Corp. is a bid to stoke demand and reverse losses that are undermining GM's overall performance in Europe.
In 2002, GM Europe, which also includes Opel, lost $549 million, with Saab accounting for about $500 million in red ink.
Saab CEO Peter Augustsson has undertaken various cost-cutting and restructuring moves, but acknowledges that Saab's real problem is too few models.
"Despite the fact that our 9-5 and 9-3 sedans are good cars," Augustsson said, "the problem is that the business model won't work at our sales volume."
The latest generation of the Saab 9-3 has been well-received, especially in North America. But Saab's global sales have been bumping along at about 120,000 units annually -- too low to sustain the brand. The new goal for Saab is to top 200,000 units a year.
"To do that," said Bob Lutz, GM vice chairman for product development, "Saab needs GM help."
That assistance will come from two GM sources. The automaker's North American operation is providing the "GMT360" platform, the underpinning for the Chevrolet Trailblazer and Buick Rainier SUVs, for the 9-7X, a mid-sized Saab sport utility vehicle due on sale in early 2005.
And GM is leveraging its 20 percent stake in Fuji Heavy Industries Ltd, which owns the Subaru brand, to create the Saab 9-2X, a premium small car designed to appeal to younger buyers, that will be the Swedish automaker's first all-wheel drive model.
The 9-2X will make its public debut at the Los Angeles auto show in January. Production is expected to begin next spring at a Fuji plant in Japan and the vehicle should be on sale in the United States by summer.
Based closely on Subaru's Impreza hatchback, but with distinctive Saab front-end styling, the 9-2X is designed to compete in a growing sub-$30,000 segment, with existing or upcoming entry-level luxury models, such as the Audi A3 and BMW 1 Series.
Two variants of the five-door 9-2X will be offered: a base, 2.5-liter four-cylinder version and a more powerful Aero model with a 2.0-liter, 227-hp turbocharged four-cylinder engine. Both powertrains are made by Subaru.
Like the 9-2X, the larger 9-7X will have clear styling differentiation from its Chevrolet cousin.
"The mid-luxury SUV market is growing fast and we need to catch up," said Augustsson, who points out that 20 percent of current Saab customers are defecting to SUVs.
Saab is targeting another SUV-related segment with the 9-3 Sport Hatch. Based on GM's Epsilon platform -- the basis for the 9-3 sedan, Opel Vectra and the 2004 Chevrolet Malibu -- the 9-3 Sport Hatch was unveiled as a concept at this month's Frankfurt auto show.
"It's a crossover between a sporty hatchback and a wagon," said Michael Mauer, Saab design chief.
With four seats, a power tailgate and a high performance 250-horsepower, 2.0-liter turbo-charged engine, the 9-3 Sport-Hatch is aimed at a different audience than the larger, roomier 9-7X and should do well in Europe, Lutz said. A production version will be in showrooms in spring 2005.
For now, Saab is benefiting from the 9-3's strong sales performance.
In the United States, which accounts for 35 percent of Saab's global volume, the 9-3 has helped the brand achieve its best results in 47 years, with sales through August up by 17 percent.
Debra Kelly-Ennis, president of Saab Cars USA, said one of chief reasons for the new 9-3's sales success is its sedan design, which appeals to American tastes much more than the previous generation's hatchback styling.
Kelly-Ennis expects the 9-3 to help Saab break the 40,000 unit sales mark in the United States this year, which would be a record for the brand, although it is still only a fifth of the sales volume being tallied by other leading European makes. And Saab's sales growth is coming without heavy reliance on incentives, she said.
"In fact, we are one of only four companies in the United States to reduce incentives recently," Kelly-Ennis said.
The 9-3 lineup will get another boost this fall with the launch of a new convertible version.
With a much stiffer chassis than its predecessor and numerous other improvements, Saab hopes the new model will deliver a larger share of the growing entry luxury convertible market.
While the convertible will be a very important halo model for Saab, significant growth in demand depends on the success of the GM-based sport utility model. European critics of GM's Saab rescue strategy say the company has taken too long to mend its only brand with a global footprint.
The 9-2X -- dubbed the "Saabaru" by some auto writers -- and the 9-7X are seen by some as stop gap measures, rather than true Saabs.
But Lutz counters charges that the Swedish automaker's identity will be diluted by GM involvement.
"GM is dedicated to growing Saab in the right way," he stressed. "The new vehicles will be engineered to drive and feel like Saabs."