Saab, the Swedish car manufacturer that nearly died last year after being dumped by General Motors, hopes to return to profitability in 2012, chairman Victor Muller said.
Saab was talking to the media across the street from the Detroit Car Show’s Cobo Center. Saab had decided not to appear at this year’s official show because it was too expensive, and put on a cut-price show of its own with a couple of tents to shield the assembled media from the biting cold. It managed to find enough space on the sidewalk to show off its product range – including the new top-of-the-range 9-5 and the 9-4X SUV, which will be launched on global markets in May.
President and Chief Executive Officer Jan Ake Jonsson told the meeting that Saab would launch a new 9-5 derivative in July, the wagon. That would mean that Saab’s new model programme will be complete when the smaller 9-3 is launched in 2012.
Chairman Muller said Saab would return to profitability in 2012.
“We will be back to profits by 2012. In 2011 we will make the transition from a company that was virtually dead to a profitable one,” Muller said.
Muller’s Dutch sports car maker Spyker Cars bought the dying Swedish automaker from GM last year.
Saab’s global sales for 2010 slumped to 31,696, after it previously predicted 45,000, after previously expecting 50,000 to 55,000. Next year’s target still stands at 80,000, down from the prediction of 100,000.
Saab’s factory was closed for eight weeks at the start of 2010 as GM had been preparing to wind the business down prior to the last-minute rescue offer from Spyker. Some suppliers had closed production.
The company said it will continue to expand its distribution network in China and Russia and that it expects to see the full effects in 2011 of its entry last year into markets such as Japan, Canada, Portugal and Australia.
Neil Winton – January 15, 2011
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