Saab Situation: Things are moving in Trollhättan

The year is still young and in Germany as well as in Sweden the economic life does not come to full activity until the next week. For Saab, the next weeks will decide everything and in Sweden there is a lot going on.

A delegation from Youngman allegedly went yesterday from China to Stockholm and is expected to arrive in Trollhättan soon. The Chinese are still running their Saab activities, even though things have become a little quieter around Rachel Pang's team. Officially, no statement is available from Youngman on the course of the negotiations ... it seems to me that buyers from the People's Republic are somewhat on the defensive.

On the other hand, the Turkish Brightwell Holding has gone on the offensive. Zamier Ahmed, speaker of the holding, does a good job and advertises in the media for his employer. One would like to take over Saab completely, preserve the great legacy of the brand and respect the Swedish roots, so the key message of various activities yesterday.

You stand by the Trollhättan site - but you can only say to what extent you will be producing and manufacturing there in the future if you have carefully analyzed Saab's cost structure. Certain things will have to be produced differently and more cost-effectively in the future.

Zamier Ahmed criticizes Saab CEO Victor Muller. Not directly, the Brightwell speaker is too much a professional for that. He avoids this, instead brings a metaphor. Muller was not the right man because ... if you have heart problems, you have to see a cardiologist and not an orthopedic surgeon ... ”And he makes it clear: Saab has just been poorly managed lately.

Tilter e-mobile from Brightwell Holding
Tilter e-mobile from Brightwell Holding

Then Brightwell Holding surprised us. Yes, said Zamier Ahmed, we have experience in automobile construction. He mentions activities for Ford, Land Rover and Jaguar, and he talks about shares that Brightwell holds in Tilter. The company has been involved in the electric car manufacturer since 2010. Tilter wants to deliver the first vehicles this year.

Does Brightwell get permission from GM to build cars under license? Zamier Ahmed is convinced. GM does not want competition in China, he sees a classic conflict of interest for every Chinese investor. China is not so interested in Brightwell. The first conversations Brightwell Holding with the men and ladies of the Potomac were certainly in a friendly atmosphere.

Well, no matter who the potential buyers are. Now is the time to go up a gear. The bankruptcy trustee is said to have launched the blue letters to the employees yesterday. Most of the more than 3.500 employees will soon be out of work, and it would be important to secure the best minds. That seems to be the bankruptcy trustee team as well, and unconfirmed information from Sweden says the sale, if it were successful and complete, will take place very quickly.

Also for the Saab Museum it would be time to secure it for posterity. Although more and more new advocates go in and say that the Swedish state should intervene saving. But in concrete terms, the legacy of industrial culture in Västragötland has not yet gotten any further.

Ur Saab Saab Museum
Ur Saab Saab Museum

Some Swedes don't seem to be clear about what is in the museum in Trollhättan. The original Saab and the complete history of the car manufacturer. And also the Saab 92, just one example among many. He is an icon for modern industrial design.

The Saab 92 and its creator Sixten Sason have made it into the most important museums in the world and into the reference book “Phaidon Design Classics”. The 999 best products from 200 years of industrial culture are listed there. An accolade for Sason and Saab!

Time for some Swedish national pride. Time for something to move ... in Trollhättan.

Text: tom@saabblog.net

13 Comments
Newest
Oldest Most Voted
Inline feedback
View all comments
Smaland
Smaland
12 years earlier

Well roared lion.

Of course, one will have to analyze what remains after the devastating media disaster. One should therefore not be too blue-eyed as far as the new car buyer is concerned. The brand itself suffered badly.

Saab as a car maker (car manufacturer, to be precise) was a losing business from the start. Neither the “Maman d'Origine” (Saab Aero) nor any of its successors (besides GM, by the way, also one of Sweden's richest dynasties, the Wallenberg clan with Scania) have made significant profits to this day. Some even lose more than gain.
This is a tough business.

Overdressed? Certainly. I've never driven a better equipped car - until GM came along.

Economically? As long as Saab Aero was behind it, that was ideological.

In today's times? At least doubtable.

GM has pulled out all the know-how and patents and secured everything that went.
The rest is repelled, as not economically feasible.
(I did not use the term “grasshopper” as you will approve of it)

We don't want to get it wrong here - I am a very big lover and fan, but in times of global networking, production and sales markets you * have * to think economically.
That was never really a strength of Saab.

I did not care, they build cool cars.

For example, VM with Plan B and Plan C was not necessarily the bad approach.
Maybe he had the wrong contacts, he kept that secret for a long time, and he also misjudged the general situation (eg patent rights) in my opinion. Because that GM has finally broken his neck.
BUT: At least he did something, and also did his best, as far as that was possible. That should be acknowledged, even after all the bad news.

For example, I think it would be a good idea to get in touch, and make a spontaneous home run to Trollhättan.
Just because.

A few stickers are nice, but they are not enough.
And: Local Heroes are only a few. They meet, the local press is there, tomorrow a bag of rice falls in China.
But then something has to happen.

There are enough Saab fans and Saab clubs on the continent. Only from Präsi to Presi rummailen who is interested, who can, who is mitfährt.

If there was a huge column heading for Sweden, that would not just be a clear message.
That would also bring something concrete to the people who are living there and (partly) living in Saab.
I mean restaurants, fries, hotels blah blah. You have to satisfy your basic needs: eating, drinking, sleeping. And what else is wrong with that?

The entire infrastructure suffers when Saab goes bankrupt.
An incentive also for the municipality / the state? They certainly have no interest if there unemployment continues to increase each quarter.
Trollhättan is not doing so well right now. Neither do the people who built our cars.
Since you can do something, or.
And maybe such an incentive could also have a lasting effect, for a long time, and give people a bit of hope.

Nice side effect:
As an additional incentive (or more?) For the potential investors, who also want to see that there are buyers - both for new vehicles and for parts. (They want to earn money and get their investments back). And the investment in Saab must be worthwhile in their eyes.

If a considerable sum of Saab drivers comes together, and if they care about maintaining the brand (and production) - well, that would be an argument. The more the better.

Outside-Saab plans for the 14. January meetings throughout Europe, this is an initiative worth supporting.

“We are many, we are Saab” - We are the people (of the trolly cars) who flush money into the coffers.

That should not be underestimated. Not when you're ready to pay more for a new Saab car than for a Benz. And for a cool car gets.

Think about it.

LG

David

Sead
Sead
12 years earlier

Hi
I am in the Saabblog every day and hope every day that a good message appears on my screen.
And today is such a day. I'm driving my 9-5 Vector out of Uebezeugung and I will not buy any more in the future. Go TROLLS !!

PS In Switzerland it snowed a lot last week. I pulled a Volvo v70 up the mountain !!! With my SAAB !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Many greetings from Switzerland

Saabfan
Saabfan
12 years earlier

Admittedly: My statement about the car rugs from Turkey was a bit cynical. Why not an owner from the West? The Turks are fabulous merchants and smart. They do not get along well with the Americans (I hope so). It would be important but a staunch and established new owner of the SAAB automotive division, which also believes in the products and corporate culture.

Joachim
Joachim
12 years earlier

If you have heart problems you should go to the cardiologist (according to Zamier Ahmed's statement)….

Hopefully Dr. Brightwell is also equipped in such a way that a really good and comprehensive treatment of the patient could take place there - but taking into account my previous knowledge I have slight doubts here.

Actually I agree with Klaus 9-5 II - a company like Mahindra would probably be the better alternative, especially because of the financial possibilities.

Joachim

Klaus 9-5 II
Klaus 9-5 II
12 years earlier

Honestly, I prefer the Turks to the Chinese.

Even more preferable would be Mahindra from India. If this company has in mind similar to Tata's with Jaguar, SAAB would certainly have a rosy future.

The Turks can build very good cars, like the current Ford Transit and many more.

I do not trust the Chinese, they work too fast and too eagerly.
What if Youngman has captured and implemented the SAAB know-how and the Phoenix platform?
Are the name rights and the continuation of the name SAAB really interesting there?

In addition, such fantastic cars as the 9-5 II and the 9-4X would have earned a living !!!

And there's no way past GM. Unfortunately, but that's it.

But we can change, the readers here curious, anyway nothing. Only hope.

By the way: also on day 3 with my new 9-5II 2,0T automatic the enthusiasm grows from kilometer to kilometer

Greetings from churches at the victory

Edik
Edik
12 years earlier
Reply to  Klaus 9-5 II

Incredible!
There's actually a Saab 9-5 II driver near me.
Since I have the next few days, when I go to school (BBS Betzdorf churches), to look more closely who is traveling on the streets.
LG Edik

Klaus 9-5 II
Klaus 9-5 II
12 years earlier
Reply to  Edik

Hello Edik,
yes, in churches there's a 9-5 II since last Tuesday. 🙂
I don't ride the beautiful one a lot because the winter tires are still missing ...
But would you like to come over!
I am the owner of the car Pfandhaus victory in the district Kirchen-Brühlhof.
SG
Klaus

Gebhard
Gebhard
12 years earlier

Hi Tom,

that's good news for now. I dare to hope a little bit again. Please keep the Saabgemeinde up to date!

Best regards from Saxony

F-RU xxxx from Frankfurt
F-RU xxxx from Frankfurt
12 years earlier

I didn't have any points of contact with Sweden and their mentality, except that they build good cars, etc. Because the people there live and work and think as if they were in a kind of “Unterobertraversendorf” where modernity only began 12,45 years ago . They don't care about the museum, the factory, the tradition, the global brand, the employees, anything. Apparently the negligently indifferent, just can't be true. As you can see, no European state has allowed car manufacturers to go down the drain lately, not to mention the Americans. I assume that if it were a question of a Votka factory, a solution would have already been found.

To understand the whole, would have to inform us (only the unsuspecting) times about the Swedish attitudes and actions times.

Achmet or Rachel - go, but quickly !!

F-RU xxxx from Frankfurt
F-RU xxxx from Frankfurt
12 years earlier

…… Vodka factory …….

Gallix
Gallix
12 years earlier

Rather "Aquavit"

Püssel
Püssel
12 years earlier

You can really be curious. In any case, the bankruptcy trustee team makes a very professional impression on me. That one does not learn much at the moment calms me down rather compared to the phase before bankruptcy.

mac9-5
mac9-5
12 years earlier

Good Morning.

I'm curious about these weeks, whether something will still happen and “we” somehow survive.