Saab News

Just like the mythical bird that rises from the ashes, the Swedish PhoeniX is intended to help Saab rise from the collapse of General Motors and soar again as an independent brand. The PhoeniX was unveiled at the Geneva Motor Show and is as radical as anything that has ever worn a Saab badge, with futuristic coupe styling that taps a new vein of Swedish creativity. Just as importantly, the PhoeniX - the name taps the X-car models in the Saab range including the latest 9-4X SUV - is built over the mechanical package that will be used for the upcoming replacement for the brand's bread-and-butter 9-3 range. Saab knows it faces a tough battle back from the troubles of recent years, but company chief Victor Muller - who sold his Spyker sports car company to inject cash into Saab - says the brand has the strength to survive. Muller says the PhoeniX is still only a concept but provides "a pointer to the future”. He doesn't see it making the step to production, but believes key design elements will soon be used on Saab's production cars. The freehand design of the PhoeniX - a metal-finished, distinctly aero coupe that disrupts the eye with its unusual lines - was unveiled in Geneva by stylist Jason Castriota. The most radical design twist on the car is C-pillar supports at the tail of the car that act as vertical spoilers. "The wings are there for a purpose. They help aerodynamics," Castriota says. But he admits they will never make it onto anything in a Saab showroom. The car also has butterfly wings that open up-and-out for access to the two-plus-two cabin, as well as pumped-out guards and a super-low roofline with a small glass area. "The PhoeniX establishes a new reference point for the future of Saab product design," says Castriota. The concept uses a 147kW 1.6-litre turbo-petrol engine bought in from BMW and has all-wheel drive using the engine for the front wheels and an electric motor for the rear. It's a potential pointer to a product tie-up with the German company for Saab as it cuts its ties to the GM world, including its previous product partners at Opel in Germany. The bottom line for the all-wheel drive coupe could be fuel economy in the 4.9 litres/100km range with CO2 emissions of just 119 grams/kilometre. Muller is clear on the work that has gone into the PhoeniX and admits the mechancial platform is destined for the new 9-3 and, within five years, the next 9-5 and 9-4X SUV. The platform is flexible enough to cope with Saab's large model range but Muller says the architecture is "too expensive” to shrink for the planned smaller, 9-2 vehicle.

The drama of Spyker - which bought Saab early last year - unfolded in Geneva when Saab chairman Victor Muller exposed the teetering financial condition of both car makers."One year ago Saab was in liquidation, had no cars in production, a supply chain in tatters and all its new models on hold," says Muller.  "Now we have a milestone for the company. We have celebrated our 12 months of independence."In fact, it's a double independence. One year ago General Motors sold Saab to Spyker for $400 million.  Unfolding over the past few weeks, new owner Spyker found itself unable to swim in a sea of debt and has cut itself adrift. At the same time, it revalued Saab at $200 million - half of what it paid."Spyker needs cash," Muller says.  "It needs euro 25 million (about $36 million) to keep going.  "We can get that by issuing new stock in the company but that would dilute existing shareholders by 22 per cent."That is unjustified. The only solution was to split Spyker and Saab."  Saab and its parent Spyker will now go on different roads with a change of the board of directors.  They will, however, be linked. Muller, for example, is to remain chairman of both companies. But the divorce allows each to concentrate on their specific paths.Saab is quickly out of the blocks running solo. To celebrate its single status, Muller says it will introduce a limited edition of 300 cars.  "Next year, we will celebrate the second year of independence with the launch of another series of limited edition models."And we will keep this up, year after year, until infinity."  Concurrently, Saab next month starts building its new 9-4X SUV in the US and plans to expand production of its 9-5 Sport Combi - a car Muller says "is extremely important to us in Northern Europe and especially Sweden"."Seldom have we been able to introduce so many products," says Muller.  "In 2012 we will have the new 9-3. New products will be based on flexible architectures and we will offer vehicles designed for drivers."Small displacement engines with turbocharging will become our cornerstone for the future for Saab."  Powertrains for the 9-4X and 9-5 come from GM but the 9-3 gets a BMW turbo-petrol engine.The platforms come from the Phoenix architecture that formed the basis for Saab's Phoenix show car at Geneva.  This architecture for the 9-3 can be stretched for 9-5 but, says Muller, would be too expensive to be cut back to create a proposed 9-2 small car.Saab employed designer Jason Castriota to style the Geneva show car, the Phoenix.  The coupe is a metal-finished, distinctly aeronautical coupe that bristles with unusual lines.Muller says its a concept "a pointer to the future" and while he doesn't see it as making the step to production, he believes key design elements will soon be used on production cars.The concept uses a 147kW 1.6-litre turbo-petrol engine from BMW and has all-wheel drive using the engine for the front wheels and an electric motor for the rear.Spyker, which makes the short wheelbase C8 - as a Spyder and Laviolette coupe - and its newer Aileron exotic sports cars, will become an asset of UK-based Coventry Prototype Panels (CPP).CPP - which is owned by Russian investor Vladimir Antonov - has been making body panels for Spyker cars for about 10 years. It also makes panels for other manufacturers, including the multi-million dollar Aston Martin One-77.Spyker spokesman Sander Van Dijk says it has 38 dealers and makes about 50 cars a year.  "But we are ramping up production of Aileron and plan 90-100 a year from 2012," he says.

The 9-3 range is already heading back to local showrooms, the 9-5 sedan is set for April, the 9-5 SportCombi will arrive late this year, and the 9-4X SUV will be early in 2012. The Swedish brand only delivered 16 cars during 2010 but is targeting more than 500 deliveries through 2011. "We're looking somewhere north of about 500 cars, as a gentle easing back into the market. We're not talking about a re-launch, we're talking about a re-invigoration," says Stephen Nicholls, managing director of Saab Cars Australia.  The company is now operating as an independent distributor, after General Motors sold the parent company to Victor Muller through his Spyker supercar business and GM Holden ended its time as importer. "The board approval to reform Saab Cars Australia was taken in late October. We had a few plans ready at that stage," says Nicholls. "What you see now is the result of us working since early November to get things in place. We'd been keeping in touch with our core dealers.  It was a fairly quick process to get cars ordered and on the boat." Nicholls is a 30-year Saab veteran who was the company's Asia-Pacific regional director before taking on responsibility for Australia. Nicholls says he has been surprised by the groundswell of interest in Saab and is happy with the response to the showroom return. "We've got cars on the ground now. We've had them for about 10 days,"   he says. "We have all 9-3s, Sports Sedan, convertible and SportCombi including the new 9-3X." The new-model rollout begins with the 9-5 sedan, which has only had a lukewarm reception in Europe, followed by the station wagon and the SUV. "We're targeting the middle of April for the 9-5 sedan," says Nicholls. "We're going to call it the wagon the 9-5 Estate in Australia. That   probably won't be with us until October-November. "The 9-4X is starting left-hand drive production now. We won't start right-hand drive production until September-October, which means a launch date very late this year or early next year. The 9-4X is definitely in the plan and is going to be an important car." Nicholls is not specific about prices for the whole range but confirms   a sub-$50,000 starting price for the return of the 9-3. "With the carryover products, if I can call it that, we're pretty much line-ball with where we were before. Against Audi and BMW we have a pretty good story to tell. "It's $46,900 for the 9-3 Sports Sedan Linear with a 2.0-litre turbo petrol engine. That's 147 kiloWatts."

The new Saab 9-5 is hitting the roads in the US and the production-ready 9-4X is on show at the Los Angeles Auto Show.

The 9-4X is the essential SUV the Swedish brand will need to succeed in most countries, including Australia.  It joins the all-new 9-5 sedan, which itself will be morphed into a prestige wagon during 2011, as well as the carryover 9-3. The 9-4X will be previewed next month at the Los Angeles Motor Show with sales in the first half of next year, although Australia - once the brand has confirmed its local sales plan and dealer network - are unlikely before the third quarter. “The 9-4X significantly broadens the appeal of the Saab brand,” says Saab Automobile CEO Jan Ake Jonsson.  “It gives us entry to the fast-growing crossover segment with a vehicle that reflects our brand values in key areas, such as progressive Scandinavian design and sporty, responsible driving performance. The 9-4X is an exciting package and we’re confident it will appeal to many existing Saab owners, as well as win new customers for the brand.” Saab has had SUVs in the past during its time as part of General Motors, but they were underdone clones of Subaru and Chevolet models.  The 9-2X was nicknamed the 'Saabaru' and was a failure in showrooms. This time the work is all new, inspired by the Aero X concept, and is part of a fresh product plan for Saab.  The car is sized between the 9-3 and 9-5 and comes with a 225kW V6 turbo engine, as well as Saab's all-wheel drive system.  The brand promises car-like driving with a flexible cabin that even has storage bins below the rear seats.  “We are convinced it sets new standards in this segment for good handling and ride qualities,” says Peter Dörrich, Saab 9-4X Vehicle Chief Engineer, who led the development team.

Saab Australia will be up and running in 2011 and the company is promising big things as it rebuilds following its sale by General Motors to the Spyker sports car company in Holland. The all-new 9-5 will be the first new model into action, but Saab says it has existing orders and will have a range of new vehicles including the 9-5 SportCombi and 9-4X SUV. "The last 18 months has been a challenge for all of us. The future will also be demanding, but we are now in a positive phase as we build Saab under new independent ownership," says Saab's regional director for Asia-Pacific, Stephen Nicholls. "We believe that Saab has a bright future around the world including Australia and New Zealand, with at least 5 significant product launches here by the end of 2012." Only seven Saabs have been sold in Australia this year, compared with 647 at the same time in 2009, although it's significant that five of those were sold in September after early news on the Australian comeback. Saab is not revealing its distribution plan but it unlikely to include many of the Holden dealers who had the brand under the failed GM Premium Brands line. Holden shut the operation when Cadillac became too costly, Hummer was closed and Saab's future became uncertain. But Nicholls refuses to be downbeat. "Firstly, we should point out that Saab never left Australia and New Zealand. We have had continuous representation in the market for almost 40 years, most recently through Holden," he says. "Saab has taken the decision to reform Saab Australia and is now working on the activities and plans necessary to implement this decision. Australia and New Zealand have historically been important (top 10) markets for Saab and we believe in a strong future potential for the brand in these countries. "We have evaluated a number of different business models for Australia and New Zealand and decided that the potential justifies a wholly owned subsidiary operation. We recognise the need to provide continuity of service to our loyal owners and so will take this into account when finalising the plans for our relaunch." Nicholls is not talking about models, but hints that 9-3 pricing will be line-ball with the current showroom stickers.

The 13-year-old 9-5 will be renewed in July in Europe with Saab's first serious SUV crossover, the 9-4X, to follow in April of 2011.  Saab is aiming for 50,000 to 55,000 sales globally this year, improving to around 100,000 next year, under its new ownership by Spyker Cars of Holland.Spyker is now going right through the company and is hoping to reduce Saab's break-even point to around 80,000 cars by the end of 2012 as it slashes its spending on engineering and manufacturing. But it is also finalising a plan for its hybrid and plug-in electric vehicles, as well as a potential starter car smaller than the current 9-3."We are now in charge of our own destiny, which means we can do anything we want," Spyker's CEO, Victor Muller, says in an interview with Autoweek magazine in the USA.  "We are gradually moving from a GM strategy of shared components and investments," says Mats Fagerhag, executive director of vehicle engineering, also talking to Autoweek."You are going to have a Saab car that consists of components and systems that we have developed jointly with other carmakers."  The change to Spkyer ownership at Saab has already seen the tooling for the 9-3, as well as the outgoing 9-5, sold to the Beijing Automotive Industry Holding Corporation, which is likely to begin production of the superseded Swedish cars within 18 months.Meanwhile, the future of Saab in Australia is no clearer now than when GM Holden first announced it would not be going forward with the brand.  There was early talk that Ateco Automotive - the country's largest independent importer with a brand library stretching from Fiat and Citroen to Ferrari and Maserati - would be the new agent for Saab.But Ateco's boss Neville Crichton went cool on the plan and local sales slumped to zero in March.  Now it's Inchcape Motors, the parent company of Subaru Australia and now a major dealer group, which is the subject of the latest Saab talk.But Inchcape refuses to even discuss the potential for a Saab agency in Australia.  "We have no comment. We do not comment on this sort of speculation," an Inchcape spokesman tells Carsguide.

As the Swedish brand looks to rebuild from its sale by General Motors, the Ateco chief says GM Holden - which was the local importer - will struggle to find a new owner.  "We turned it down," he says bluntly. Crichton also reports that the new global tie-up between Fiat and Chrysler will not affect the two brands' operations in Australia, where they will remain separate."Fiat don't want anything to do with the Chrysler side of things." While Crichton continues to drive his Ateco empire hard he is struggling to find a challenge outside work, there he has been a world- class sailing success in recent years with victories including this year's Sydney-to-Hobart classic. "I need to make some money again," he says.  "I'm never going to do Hobart again. I don't enjoy the race. It's cold and wet. You're going south and then you've got to drink Cascade when you get there." Crichton also rules out any involvement in the America's Cup, although he still has a mini-maxi he is racing this year in Europe.   "America's cup? I've done it once, I don't want to do it again," he says.

But Eduard Gray's small car concept, called the 92010 Sixten, has failed to wow Saab's new owner, Dutch sportscar maker Spyker. The Trollhattan-based industrial designer's work has captured the imagination of Saab enthusiasts globally but Spyker has not even acknowledged the car."The response to the design has been largely positive, although there has been much discussion as to whether this is a 'retro' concept or the next logical step for the brand," he says. "I can say that it was designed as the latter, looking forward, with mere echoes of past glory."Gray admits there is some self-interest in doing the 92010, the second Saab he has designed. "I'm a half English and half Dutch industrial designer working in Trollhattan, so I was pleased to see Spyker buying out our dying Saab brand and securing my own future," he says.Gray says he would welcome any opportunity to work with Saab. "I rang Saab's brand design boss Simon Padian, without luck, asking about design opportunities," he says. "I then started a campaign to design my way into Saab and set to work on the hastily rendered Saab Spyker 9+Tribute, which was also well received by fans. Having sent the renderings to Simon and having received no comment I embarked on the next project, the jewel in the crown of Spyker, the compact 92."Gray says he was inspired to do a small car after comments by enthusiasts and the media that Saab needed a new small car."A lot of enthusiasts called for a return to some of the original Saab lines from the Ursaab, the 92 and 96," Gray says. "So I used the proportions of those for the main body shape and distinctive side line profile and brought the car up to date with design cues from the Aero X concept and the new 95 production car. I tried keeping the round headlights, but was forced to compromise these, adding large lenses into more conventional, yet softened headlight housings to keep in line with the current design language."A recent poll in Sweden supported the idea of Spyker employing Gray. "Many have commented that Saab, and indeed Victor (Muller) himself, should get in touch and employ me," he says. Gray is still waiting. In the meantime he's designing luxury one-off yachts for a boat company.

plus new vehicle technology gathers momentum and SAAB may not be dead just yet.For all this and a lot more, listen to the podcast above.