Weekly Review. Education. Rumors. Lagerauflösung.
At the beginning of the week we got good news from Sweden. Orio AB, the original spare parts supplier, trains technicians for authorized Saab service centers. Because on Swedish roads are around 200.000 Saabs from year 1998 on the way.
To ensure the service for these vehicles, Orio offers introductory courses for Swedish mechanics. The training takes place in the workshop of the Saab Museum and is led by the former technology trainers of Saab Automobile AB, Magnus Hellkant and Bengt Frick. The courses extend over 3 days and are fully booked.
A positive move by Orio AB to pass on Saab competence and guarantee competent service. It is not known whether there will be courses for other markets outside of Sweden.
The rumor mill
A few days after NEVS decided that there would be no Saab comeback, a speculative report appeared in the Express. A journalist close to Volvo toyed with the idea that Volvo and Geely could revive Saab together and that NEVS would have been left behind. The origin of the rumor is the Geely project “L”.
On the modular CMA platform developed by CEVT in Gothenburg, new Volvos, new Geelys and vehicles of an as yet unknown brand are to be created. This label is intended to cover the segment between high-priced Volvos and affordable Geely vehicles. Saab has seen itself as “near premium” in recent years and would fit in well with the gap. Sales should take place via the existing dealer network.
After a premiere date in early summer passed unused, allegedly because you wanted to let Volvo with the concept studies the precedence, and also at the car show in Paris, nothing is to be discovered, there is a new track. Auto Tom in China reports the 20. October as the date for the performance. Not in Beijing, not anywhere in the world. But in Sweden!
An SUV comes as the first model, then a sedan. They are based on the CMA platform like the upcoming Volvo S40 and XC40. The new premium brand will then launch 2017 sales. However, there is no official confirmation.
Premiere in Sweden = new Swedish brand?
Geely's activities in Sweden are running hot. Li Shufu is always in Gothenburg, the European headquarters of the Geely Group is to be built there, and Geely invests on a large scale. A former Saab development manager manages the business at CEVT. The new vehicles of the project “L” brand should go in size in the direction of a Saab 9-3. The world premiere will start in Sweden if the information is correct.
All this could be interpreted in a certain direction. Still, I think it's extremely unlikely and believe more in a brand with any art name born to Geely.
Oh yes. On October 20.10th Mark and I are in Sweden. By chance - of course!
Warehouse sales at Wedde.
Just a quick reminder. As already announced last week, the big parts sale will start at Wedde on October 1st. An appointment in the Hamburg area that should not be missed!
The hall is prepared, the selection is great. The stock removal takes place from 10.00 clock to 18: 00 clock and is particularly interesting for fans of classic cars from Trollhättan.
What I noticed about the new VOLVOs: The engines “only” have up to 2 l displacement, but with turbo sometimes over 200 HP and a lot of Nm. - Looks familiar to me from SAAB 😉
I even read about 8 PS on the T4 engine (2 cylinder, biturbo, 320 liter). Plus 80 PS over electric support via hybrid yields stately 400 PS system performance (see current XC90 T8).
This can really start something
If you think about a brand in the middle segment, you will certainly have to expect less. But hey- with 250 PS can also live well. The whole shows how skalibar is the new Volvo drive system.
Saab is history, that must be clear. You can not believe Nevs. The future is Jaguar / Landrover. That does not mean that one should take good care of the last Saab until the end
Jaguar / Landrover is successful with a German ceo Ralph Speth and designer Gerry MC Govern. And big investment by Tata. Like volvo, you want to sell a million cars. I also have one. But the longing for saabs does not go away.
That does not make sense. If I want to buy a Volvo, I buy a Volvo. A second brand is still far from Saab. It's not about the name, but about the spirit and the production. Although many Saab people have gone to Volvo.
Volvo also knows how to use the brand image of Volvo (safety, Scandinavian design, etc.). That's what SAAB would be able to do.
Hello SAAB AB wake up !!!!
Yes, I see it similarly - why not SAAB + Volvo = Geely? Better than hoping for NEVS. SAAB AB will certainly give the name to Geely for a fee, but no longer to NEVS. There are too many SAAB fans and too great a potential for Volvo not to be able to use a second brand for itself. VW also has 2.
That would be too good to be true. Life could be best with the connection SAAB-Volvo.
Yes. Also, the Saab 93 Epsilon 1 or Phoenix IX is back in Turkey.
Would be interesting from SAAB AB to learn whether the subject SAAB Automobile / trademark rights is finally done or not.
Interesting question! It would also be interesting to know how exactly the talks between NEVS and SAAB AB went. Maybe you could interpret something between the lines. But such information is usually not available. Pity!
Could project “L” allude to TroLLhättan? Or maybe the target group between XL (Volvo) and S (Geely) is meant. Why October 20th? Is there any important anniversary on this day in the SAAB or Volvo history? Questions about questions ...
There is only the representation of NEVS. A large one-time payment for licensing plus one payment per vehicle. That after NEVS presented a concrete plan for the next years and the product range. I think that is credible.
No idea how to get on the 20.10. comes. The question is how reliable the information is. There is only one website, to which all other reports invoke.
If the licensing information is correct, the use of the brand name for a financially strong corporation (which, of course, would otherwise have the necessary aptitude) would still be a most enticing thing.
Would be a blast if Geely or completely other companies are already on hold after NEVS has been canceled and have made contact with SAAB AB. Possibly. New SAAB models will soon even be presented by a previously completely unexpected provider - accompanied by the enthusiasm of the global SAAB community!
Would already be possible! The danger is that the name degenerates into an empty phrase. The products that would come from somewhere would have to earn the name. Otherwise, you would not be accepted as real SAABs by the community. The many said DNA must fit.
I trust the Volvo. First, an SUV is supposed to be followed by a limousine, Tom reported. If you look at the study of the XC40.2 (Link: http://www.motor-talk.de/news/volvos-neues-fundament-t5697865.html) and the front and the rear thinks differently one could recognize the lines of a SAAB with a little imagination. But such a car does not appeal to the traditional SAAB audience. Whether it must also mean SAAB?
According to the current facts, NEVS is much closer to the DNA than Volvo. Will we be smarter after October 20th? We'll see ...
Why is Valmet Automotive building in Finland Cars driving EU market And why are not the Schuler press working in trollhattan?
The thing with the so-called artificial names did not work properly anywhere. Li Shufu will be more interested in the SAAB brand again. As is well known, this interest was already there a few years ago - but I don't know the reasons why it didn't work out at the time.
That's right, it worked best at Lexus. But it also took a long time ...
There is more to it than against it. Between SAAB and Volvo there was always overlap, in many families both brands were driven. For GEELY it would be the smartest decision ever. Just two European brands under one roof, the store could become big, successful and dangerous for the big boys.
True, for many, the affinity with Sweden is an important factor.
Families where there are two car brands are not uncommon.
Is there hope there? That would be cool!
With us in Belgium, there was a lot to do with state grid this week. This giant of electricity as we know from Nevs. They wanted to invest almost 900 million euros in flemish Eandis. A gas-electricity distributor. in the hands of the city and municipality. Stad Antwerp blocked the deal. She was afraid of losing control and was spying. Too bad to have to drive like a link nevs 93 Ev via stategrid The Volvo cma V40 and XC 40 in Gent arrive faster than planned. It takes a while to switch platforms. Maybe we'll build saabs in Belgium with the cma.
Well, those are some good news for such a cloudy weather and upcoming long weekend. Saab stays Saab, pills do not help :)
I would like it too ...
The rumor mill cooks a delicious soup with fantastic ingredients. A Saab comeback by Volvo and Geely I would personally like ............
I would quite trust Geely / Volvo. They have invested billions of dollars in Volvo's Volvo comeback. They have the right platforms, the drive technology, and the first EV is not far away either. In addition, they employ the former Saab development chief and design chief. On the other hand, the matter speaks with the trademark rights. I can not imagine that you can handle it.
Everything would fit except for the child's name! It would be possible that SAAB AB had secret talks with Volvo and NEVS in parallel. It would also make sense to have the name cost a little. You would immediately have a broad fan base, many of which urgently need new SAABs. With a completely new brand, you start from scratch. Mhhh - if there's something to it, it would be incredibly exciting.
Sounds good, but it's actually too good to be true. Nevertheless, we should not give up hope yet. In any case, a very interesting contribution to the weekly closing.