Saab Cuts Over-Ambitious Sales Targets

Saab has barely started its Phoenix-like return to the market place, but is already having to slash and burn its sales targets, removing about 10,000 from the 2010 goal, and 20,000 from next year.

The long term global target of 120,000 cars a year remains intact.

Spyker Cars, the Dutch sports car maker which bought the dying Swedish auto maker from GM earlier this year, announced that Saab sales in 2010 will now reach 45,000, after previously expecting 50,000 to 55,000, while next year’s target has been cut to 80,000, down from 100,000.

Flamboyant Dutch entrepreneur Victor Muller who owns Spyker spent much of the summer touring world car markets announcing the old targets, which he was forced to scale back in an announcement saying that his company had more liabilities than assets.

Spyker reported a negative equity position because of an International Financial Reporting Standards requirement to treat the $326 million of redeemable preference shares issued to General Motors as part of the Saab deal as liabilities instead of equity.

Muller said the company had sufficient liquidity and would not have to recapitalise.

The company said it had net cash of €280 million and undrawn lending facilities of €266 million from the European Investment Bank. Together, Muller said that would carry the company through to its 2012 profitability target.

Saab CEO Jan Ake Jonsson said perhaps the company had been a little bit optimistic, saying that Saab’s restart after its near death experience took longer than expected.

Saab is currently ramping up sales in Europe and the new 9-5 is just arriving in the U.S.