Market report: Saab in China

22Oct2012

Saab: a welcome brand in Europe

Saab is a Swedish car brand. Its originaly used to be a plane manufacturer, but in 1947, it successfully launched its first car, the Saab 92. This model was very advanced for the time because Saab utilized its experience in making planes into its design of the car. Saab is different from other car companies, in that it has experience in manufacturing trucks and planes. It thus, applied this knowledge and technology into the design of its sedans.

Relative to the other car giants in the car-manufacturing industry, Saab is still relatively young. In the 1970s, the world auto market was in recession, but Saab, nevertheless, entered the market. Due to its high safety rating and energy efficient nature, it quickly built up its image and rose to popularity. In late 1980s, Saab faced some difficulties in its operations as it was restructured into an independent company. However, the launching of its popular 9000-series of cars allowed it to remain as one of the leaders in world car market. GM bought sole ownership of Saab in 2000. Saab’s sales greatly increased thanks to GM’s larger sales and distribution network.

Saab still remains as one of the high-end cars in Europe. Consumers’ recognition of Saab comes from the appreciation of its safety, its unique design, and its aeronautics technology.

Saab’s Cooperation with Chinese Brands

Due to the world financial crisis and its own internal financing problems, Saab Automobile AB, Saab Automobile Tools and Saab Powertrain AB submitted filed for bankruptcy.

In October 12, 2012, Dongfeng Automobiles announced that it bought 70% of the stocks of TEngineering AB Company. The TEngineering AB Company’s predecessor was Saab Powertrain AB. Its study fields include: internal-combustion engines, hybrid cars, electric vehicles, and drive systems. By partnering with the former Saab, Dongfeng will have advantage in independent research and development, which will be useful in its future endeavors.

Saab attracted a lot of attention from potential buyers when it filed for bankruptcy. Chinese companies such as Youngman Car(青年汽车) wanted to buy it. But the company’s attempt to buyout Saab was unsuccessful as Youngman only managed to get 30% of the shares of Spyker, Saab’s parent company. After this, Beijing(北京) Automobile(北京汽车公司) and the Swedish National Electric Car Company also attempted to purchase Saab, but both companies also failed. Finally, it was National Energy Sweden Co. Ltd that successfully gained ownership of Saab. National Energy Sweden Co. Ltd has holds an advantage in developing cars that use unconventional forms energy. Saab, on the other hand, is better at producing cars that run on traditional energy sources. By buying Saab, it will have access to different knowledge that the company can use to develop better products.

Daxue Consulting Market Report in China

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Credit Photo： Pcauto