Saab to start building again?

[j3gme]

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-25180698
Well it can only be a good thing !

[rix]

I am glad, but that's going to be a serious up hill struggle! Exactly who is gonna punt their cash into a dated 9-3 being built with unproven investments and presumably, a largely new workforce?!

[FRA53R]

Saw this too, I don't hold out much hope on it working out but I want it to.

[parabolica]

I'd imagine they are going to focus on their domestic market where they originally sold well, to start with at least. I liked Saab, but their rebirth has a whiff of MG about it, i.e. relaunched by the Chinese and no-one really cares

[Fartgalen]

Electric cars are not going to work in Sweden. It's too cold in the majority of the country and the distances a lot of people travel are too long. They might work in some cities, but I'd have thought the majority will go for export. I hope they keep the petrol/diesel development going though.

[Matt UK]

rix said:

I am glad, but that's going to be a serious up hill struggle! Exactly who is gonna punt their cash into a dated 9-3 being built with unproven investments and presumably, a largely new workforce?!

Exactly my thoughts. And it's not as if Saab left a gaping hole in the market anyway. The USPs all started to fall away when they became part of GM IMO.

When they collapsed there was much wailing from the 'enthusiasts' quarters (who were referring to Saab 15+ years ago). "Noooooooo, we can't let Saab disappear!" they cried in earnest from their keyboards as a BMW 530d sat quietly on the drive outside...

But the reality is the general car buying public said "I see, thanks for the info" and just carried on as normal.

I feel for all the people involved who lost jobs, but at a top line level losing Saab didn't even blip on my radar as I didn't think their modern products did anything particularly well vs the competition. An unpopular opinion on PH, I know. My flame-proof jacket is on standby.

Edited by Matt UK on Monday 2nd December 11:12

[nagsheadwarrior]

Shame their not putting that new 9-5 back into production,that was a gorgeous looking car.

Forgive my ignorance but I cant recall what the last 9-3 was like, was that the one that had been around a long time even then?

[900T-R]

Yep, fairly competitive when it was launched back in 2002, then allowed to fall behind the times sadly...