Saab’s new 9-3 SportCombi (‘SportWagon’ in some markets) takes Saab into the premium, mid-size wagon segment for the first time and Saab is hoping that the new variant from the 9-3 range will provide much needed growth impetus for the loss-making GM-owned premium brand.
Go deeper with GlobalData
In recent years Saab has been hit by the relatively high cost of manufacturing in Sweden (a problem compounded by unfavourable exchange rates) and analysts note that overall production on the two model range lines at Trollhattan – around 128,000 units in 2004 – has been viewed by GM managers, exercised by the need to cut costs in the drive to breakeven in Europe, as unacceptably low.
Earlier this year, Saab’s Trollhattan plant lost out to Opel’s Russelsheim plant in an internal GM Europe contest to secure next generation Epsilon – which will support Opel/Vauxhall models as well as Saabs – programme production. As a result, the next generation Epsilon-based Saab 9-3 and 9-5 models will be made at Russelsheim towards the end of the decade.
Trollhattan’s longer-term future now appears to rest on lower volume models and an increasing role as a producer in Europe of other GM brands’ models too – starting with the Cadillac BLS in 2006.
However, Saab is looking for significant volume growth from the new Trollhattan-produced 9-3 SportCombi variant. Saab is stressing the sportiness of the new model, hoping that its driving dynamics combined with the practicality of the wagon/estate shape will spearhead incremental volume growth for Saab.
How well do you really know your competitors?
Access the most comprehensive Company Profiles on the market, powered by GlobalData. Save hours of research. Gain competitive edge.
Thank you!
Your download email will arrive shortly
Not ready to buy yet? Download a free sample
We are confident about the unique quality of our Company Profiles. However, we want you to make the most beneficial decision for your business, so we offer a free sample that you can download by submitting the below form
By GlobalDataSaab estimates that the ‘growing premium mid-size wagon’ segment in Europe reached some 250,000 units in 2004, with diesel engines accounting for some 70% of sales.
Each variant in the 9-3 SportCombi line-up is expected to cost slightly more than its equivalent saloon range variant, the price differential being similar to that in the 9-5 estate and saloon ranges.
Saab GB Managing Director Jonathan Nash told British journalists at a launch event for the new model variant at Trollhattan that he sees the Saab 9-3 SportWagon (it is SportWagon rather than SportCombi in UK) playing in a segment in Britain that totals around 75,000 units annually and that the 9-3 SportCombi should be able to ‘comfortably’ take 10% of that market in its first full year of sales.
Nash presented figures that showed that while the British premium car market as a whole is down 11% so far this year, the mid-sized premium estate car market is up 16%, reinforcing the growth opportunity offered and the importance to Saab of coming to the market now with a 9-3 estate variant.
He also maintained that with Saab’s UK sales up 39% year-to-date, Saab is the fastest growing premium brand in the UK over the past twelve months. Nash forecast that Saab GB (Britain is Saab’s second biggest European market after Sweden) would increase its total sales to over 25,000 units in 2005, which compares to a 20,000 unit total for 2004.
In Britain the body-shell premium for the estate 9-3 over the saloon is around £1,000 with pricing starting at £18,000 for the entry 1.8i and topping at £27,795 for the 250bhp Aero 2.8 V6 Turbo (the first turbocharged application of GM’s new global V6 engine architecture). Saab GB expects the 9-3 SportWagon to account for 50% of all 9-3 model range sales in its first full year.
“We have benchmarked against the Audi A4 Avant,” Nash said. “And we believe that the market sweet spot in this segment is in the diesel offering at around the £23,000 price-point,” he told journalists.
The £22,845 150 bhp low-emission Vector 1.9 TiD variant is expected by Saab to be the biggest selling 9-3 SportWagon variant in the UK market.
European sales of the Saab 9-3 SportCombi/SportWagon start in September.
