Saab Restarts Production

Edward Niedermeyer
by Edward Niedermeyer

With €30m from PangDa and €30m from Gemini Investments, Saab restarted production today at its Trollhättan factory. According to SaabsUnited, the line will run at 80% speed today and Monday, before moving to 100% (over 200 cars per day) by the middle of next week. Speaking at a press conference, CEO Victor Muller reflected:

It’s been an interesting lesson. A company like Saab, that lives in a glass house, should never be caught in a situation where there is not enough cash to withstand the storm as the one we have seen now. What happened seemed like a very insignificant situation became a very significant situation, and next thing you know, you are losing six weeks of production… it was very, very tough and we’ve had some very adverse circumstances that we’ve had to live with, but we got out of it. I think that if you got through 2009-2010 as Saab has been, anything else is relatively easy. We will definitely ensure that this will not happen again. This means that we will be on a quest to ensure that we have sufficient funds at all times to overcome adveersities like this because we can’t afford to have another production stoppage with all the relating downsides, such as disappointed customers, upset suppliers and media attention… that is definitely not in our interests.

Muller went on to say that he had expected orders to drop off during the interruption, but that they had continued… albeit at only 40 percent of their previous levels. The FT reports

The production hiatus has left Saab with a sizeable order backlog. The total of around 8,100 cars includes 6,500 outstanding orders for markets worldwide and an additional 1,300 cars ordered by Pang Da as part of its rescue package. Saab said that €30m in respect of the latter was paid up front.

Muller said that he anticipates a two-to-three-month wait for Chinese government approval of a further tie-up with PangDa, and insists that Saab has the cash to get through that period. But with Vladimir Antonov’s share purchase still pending approval and Chinese approval of the PangDa deal far from certain, the WSJ notes that “Saab’s long-term prospects remain uncertain.” Despite Muller’s insistence that the production shutdown had taught him to keep enough cash on hand, his “quest for sufficient funds” clearly continues. Though it’s hurdled a significant obstacle, the battle for Saab’s survival continues…


Edward Niedermeyer
Edward Niedermeyer

More by Edward Niedermeyer

Comments
Join the conversation
3 of 10 comments
  • Tommy Boy Tommy Boy on May 27, 2011

    I just happened to be at a SAAB dealership getting some work done on my wife's 2002 9-5 (which overall has been a great car). They had a couple of new 9-5's there, and besides the initial sticker shock, I was surprised at how unimpressive the dash was -- hard plastics befitting a 20k car, but not a 45-50k car. But then I realized that the "new" 9-5 is really a GM product that (unlike my wife's car) was designed after GM had taken full control of SAAB. So the new 9-5 (and new 9-4) is going to offer inflated European prices for pedestrian GM-spec components, GM-deficient pre-production testing and GM's notorious beancounter corner-cutting (besides the aforementioned cheapish interior, lowest bidder components designed to last only through the warranty period). I hope that SAAB survives, and does so long enough to someday offer vehicles that are excised of the GM influence, and instead offer true quality engineering, component quality and assembly.

  • Paul W Paul W on May 27, 2011

    Trollhättan running even at 100% equals to a normal car factory running at what, 50%? 30%?

    • Athos Nobile Athos Nobile on May 27, 2011

      If we take 200-240 cars/day as mentioned in other articles as 100% capacity, and considering an 8hr shift, it may be normal or 50% capacity of a "normal" factory. I'd expect around 40-60 cars/hr in a mass production factory. Not bad for Saab.

  • ToolGuy This might be a good option for my spouse when it becomes available -- thought about reserving one but the $500 deposit is a little too serious. Oh sorry, that was the Volvo EX30, not the Mustang. Is Volvo part of Ford? Is the Mustang an EV? I'm so confused.
  • Mikey My late wife loved Mustangs ..We alway rented one while travelling . GM blood vetoed me purchasing one . 3 years after retirement bought an 08 rag top, followed by a 15 EB Hard top, In 18 i bought a low low mileage 05 GT rag with a stick.. The car had not been properly stored. That led to rodent issues !! Electrical nightmare. Lots of bucks !! The stick wasn't kind to my aging knees.. The 05 went to a long term dedicated Mustang guy. He loves it .. Today my garage tenant is a sweet 19 Camaro RS rag 6yl Auto. I just might take it out of hibernation this weekend. The Mustang will always hold a place in my heart.. Kudos to Ford for keeping it alive . I refuse to refer to the fake one by that storied name .
  • Ajla On the Mach-E, I still don't like it but my understanding is that it helps allow Ford to continue offering a V8 in the Mustang and F-150. Considering Dodge and Ram jumped off a cliff into 6-cylinder land there's probably some credibility to that story.
  • Ajla If I was Ford I would just troll Stellantis at all times.
  • Ronin It's one thing to stay tried and true to loyal past customers; you'll ensure a stream of revenue from your installed base- maybe every several years or so.It's another to attract net-new customers, who are dazzled by so many other attractive offerings that have more cargo capacity than that high-floored 4-Runner bed, and are not so scrunched in scrunchy front seats.Like with the FJ Cruiser: don't bother to update it, thereby saving money while explaining customers like it that way, all the way into oblivion. Not recognizing some customers like to actually have right rear visibility in their SUVs.
Next