Ambitious plans for Saab

Back from the dead, Swedish maker intends to expand into other markets, but has to resolve problems with creditors
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Saab aims to enter new international markets over the next 12 months or so.

Local MD for the brand, Stephen Nicholls, revealed during the launch of the new 9-5 that the company Spyker acquired from General Motors at a firesale price is committed to launching in three of the four emerging powerhouse economies collectively named the 'BRIC' nations (Brazil, Russian, India and China).

"We have been in China, in a sort of way, for a number of years, but we're really looking at going back and setting up our own organisation there, which we've never done before," he told the Carsales Network.

"We've got the go-ahead for that and... it will take us about six months to get all the homologation work… CCC approvals for [the 9-5] done. So we reckon by the end of this year we could be selling cars in China, through our own importership there, which is good news.

"We're just signing with Russia... so Russia's coming on board. I've heard that there's a big thrust to get back into Brazil -- because of our bio-ethanol associations, and I think it's a very easy thing for us to do.

"India we haven't got a plan for at the moment..."

While the tidings are positive, the car company appears to be running before it can walk. There are legacy issues challenging the company's management in Trollhattan, among them the little matter of creditors demanding payment for parts supply.

Saab has some steps in place to ensure production continues and creditors were not in a position to obstruct development of the new 9-5 (pictured), since that vehicle was "ring-fenced".

However, the factory closed down for a 24-hour period the day after the 9-5 launch in Australia. That allowed company management and creditors some breathing space to resolve issues standing between them, before resuming production the following week.

Nicholls attributed the current crop of problems to short-term cashflow problems, which had no significant bearing on the company's longer-term goals.

"The business plan is still there, the funding is still there... sometimes the cashflow doesn't always work on a day-to-day basis," he admitted.

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