The 2010 Saab 9-5 is first off the restarted Saab production Line
Production at Saab has now restarted under the ownership of Spyker, with a 2010 Saab 9-5 being the first off the production line today.
It’s been a long and sometimes fraught road back to production for Saab. Almost sinking in to oblivion after GM decided to wind it down after failing to secure a buyer who would jump through the required hoops, Spyker is now in control and production has restarted at Trollhatten.
It is true that we did report Saab 9-4x production had started back in January, but that was just a limited number of cars for evaluation and crash testing and was prior to the Spyker deal completing. And in any case the Saab 9-4x – which is the Cadillac SRX under the skin – is being built in Mexico by GM, not in Trollhatten by Saab. So the announcement that production has restarted at Trollhatten signals the birth of what will hopefully be a far more successfully era for Saab than the unfortunate tenure of GM.
Saab production fell last year to only 40,000 cars, which is a long way short of their break-even point of around 100,000 units. Spyker aim to lift last year’s figure by at least 50% this year and have Saab back in to profit by 2012. A tall order, but they have a decent range of cars to go at it, with the 2010 Saab 9-5 starting to roll out, the 9-4X hitting showrooms by the start of 2011 and an all new 9-3 planned for 2012. There is also much talk of a new compact Saab – the Saab 9-1 – sooner rather than later if headway is made with a platform sharing deal with an as yet unndamed manufacturer.
Victor Muller, CEO of Spyker Cars said:
“Everyone at Saab has worked extremely hard to reach this important point. Today production restarted with a new 9-5 first down the line – a fitting symbol that a new era has begun.”
Let’s hope it really is the start of a bright new era for Saab.
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