Saab Cars USA officially began operations earlier this week. On Monday 5th October the new crew was sanctioned and began operations that will carry on when they eventually separate completely from General Motors.
Whilst that symbolic move took place just this week, the physical move from the Renaissance Center in Detroit may take a little longer, but that doesn’t mean they’ve not got the ball rolling already.
From The Oakland Press
Saab Cars USA is asking for a tax break if it moves its national headquarters from the Renaissance Center in Detroit to a building on Delemere Court in Royal Oak.
General Motors, the parent company of the Swedish-based subsidiary “born from jets,” will stop funding the unit Dec. 31. Saab is up for sale and on the lookout for a site to base its operations.
“Royal Oak seems to fit our customer demographics,” Saab spokeswoman Nicole Jankowski said. “It’s a trendy place.”
Saab plans to invest about $2.2 million in Royal Oak’s north end — or alternative sites in Connecticut that are under consideration. Saab had its U.S. headquarters in New Haven and Orange, Conn., for 30 years before relocating to Norcross, Ga., in 1992 and then Detroit in 2004.
Saab needs the tax abatement for new capital investment “to help justify a Michigan-based headquarters,” said Mike Colleran, president and chief operating officer of Saab Cars USA, in a letter to Royal Oak officials.
The $2.2 million investment would be made over a five-year period “to establish and maintain a U.S. headquarters operation consisting mostly of sales and marketing functions,” according to the Sept. 29 letter.
The office would employ about 50 people, said Royal Oak’s Planning Director Tim Thwing, but he didn’t know if any of the jobs will be newly created…….
……A one-story, gray brick building at 4327 Delemere Court near Normandy and Coolidge could become the next base for Saab Cars USA. Ronnisch Construction Group, the current tenant, is leaving the site near the mechanical contractor JB Cain Co. and the equipment supplier JP Lann Golf.
“The building fits their needs,” Thwing said. “It has been fixed up, it has offices, and it has an overhead door that Saab can use for testing vehicles.”
It seems they’re looking to stay in Michigan, which I guess is understandable given they need to retain experienced staff at this crucial point in time.
It’s a big time in Saab’s US history, so I guess anywhere is good so long as the people involved have a sense of occasion and a fire in their belly.
Good luck to Mike Colleran and his crew at Saab Cars USA.
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With the low real estate prices in Michigan right now, that really should be subsidy enough vs. Connecticut.
I thought that moving the HQ to Atlanta was a little nutty back in the day. Trendy move, but you had little or no automotive infrastructure there. The cars were coming into the US in Brunswick, Georgia, but that’s no reason to move to Atlanta. At least in Connecticut you’ve got New York City’s business and logistics hubs at hand.
The low real-estate probably is, but being here in Connecticut is so much closer to the hub of the majority of their business it really would be a logical step. Plus CT does offer some nice tax benefits for its large commercial entities (ie: Pfizer, General Dynamics, GE, and the numerous insurance firms in Hartford).
They could almost run the Aero driving academy type thing at Lime Rock Park as well as a replacement to Road America if they felt the need to locate that closer to the headquarters. Perhaps not quite as nice, but it would be a decent alternative in CT.
(Plus I would love to get a job with them here in my home state, not that I had any alternative motives or anything)
“Saab needs the tax abatement for new capital investment
“to help justify a Michigan-based headquarters ….. ”
Hmmm, I vote for the old Connecticut site. Traditions.
Either that or back to NYC where Bob (Sinclair) preferred Saab USA to stay. He was after all, our patron saint.
http://blog.hemmings.com/index.php/2009/05/12/remembering-saab-usas-bob-sinclair/
CT brings images of treelined streets and yards trimmed with white picket fences. Just the kind of image I personally like for Saab. Are Saab USA going to represent Canadian interests as well?
Saab needs the tax abatement for new capital investment
“to help justify a Michigan-based headquarters ….. ”
Considering they will not create any new jobs, why would Michigan give them a tax abatement? As has been mentioned real estate in Michigan, especially Detroit is among the lowest in the country.
As someone who lives in CT and just saw another company recently pull out of the state (Pratt & Whitney), my biased vote goes to…CT! I’m sure Saab could get a great deal from the state, too.
I do feel that it does place Saab in a location that goes back to it’s roots, which for the marketing image itself is huge.
Distancing themselves from old GM would be a fresh start.
Another vote for Connecticut, New England is the heart of Saab in the US. The only Saabier state would be Vermont!
Little article abt BAIC with some comments on the Saab deal.
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748704882404574460912879792956.html
Wow, where did all this Connecticut talk come from? CT would be awesome!!
I agree that they should move out of Michigan. They need to seperate themselves from GM. As for a new location I say they should shop around. In the Northeast there’s NY and CT with CT likely offering them cheaper property. In the South there is GA, it may not have made sense in the past but Atlanta is now a booming market and many companies are based now there. And we can’t forget the Westcoast – California, where there is a lot of Automotive talent.
Either way I’m glad to see them taking this step as a reborn Saab.
Saab should consider moving to Northern, VA
VW and Audi did the same for the tax break and now
SAIV (My Company not, not BAIC, stock ticker is SAI) is now moving its head quarters from Cali to Mclean as well for the tax break.
I changed my mind from CT and NY.
Let’s move Saab N. American headquarters to eastern Canada, like Montreal !
“Let’s move Saab N. American headquarters to eastern Canada, like Montreal !”.
Rather they stay in Detroit.
[says the wool-dyed Maple Leaf from the Sanctimonious Ice Box...] [:)))))]
Detroit is not doing well, but you really need to know that real estate is not nearly at the bottom of the USA. Metro Detroit is much nicer than most of you realize. The city of Detroit is of course not in good shape.
Also, Detroit is the largest market for Saab in the USA. Please read the statistics. You are more likely to see a Saab in Metro Detroit than and Audi, BMW or Mercedes, and believe me, people spend a lot of money on cars here.
You may not like GM, but Michigan is not as bad as you think.
I remember Royal Oak as the place that I would go to visit my friends that had graduated but stayed in state when I was in college at U of M. I remember it much more as a party town than a “trendy place”, but that was almost ten years ago. If they have to stay in SE Michigan, I think they should go for Ann Arbor instead.
I don’t think anyone was denigrating Detroit or Michigan. I think the general sentiment is that SAAB is a unique brand with a unique philosophy and culture, which was not well-matched to that of GM.
Hence as a symbolic move, folks were simply making suggestions to other places where they feel have that certain “connection” to SAAB.
Doug,
I think you see a lot of Saabs in Detroit because it was recently the only nice car that you could get with a GM employee discount.
Royal Oak is only 30 minutes from Canada (according to Google), so that’s not too bad, although New England may be philosophically closer to Canada.
Connecticut please.
If you’re bringing hockey into it, that’s one more reason to leave Detroit — the despised Red Wings. It’s never too early to start hating the Red Wings.
“the despised Red Wings. It’s never too early to start hating the Red Wings.”
Lesser of Evils
[:)]
Saab sells over 50% of their US cars in the Northeast…logic might dictate Northeast…and most of the people who will be Saab USA folks are already living in that region…
Yes, Yes! The Northeast region makes More Sense. Actually, Northern Virginia would be an ideal location.
SaabKen, is Quebec TRULY in Canada?
Quebec is France Light.
To you, perhaps.
To paraphrase a lesser-known American comedian: “Quebec has all of the French attitude but none of the scenery.”
Westchester County New York would be nice…
OMG, the Quebec comments are hilarious,
But IMHO, Montreal exudes that Olde Europe ambiance with a modern, trendy flair, and the natural sceneries that go with parts of Northern Europe.
. . . and plenty of SAABs on the road . . . with 5 months of winter to frolic in!
Bruce
(in Montreal!)
Funny you say that, Bruce. Of all the times I was there, collectively I’ve seen many 10 Saabs
Must be hidden by all the Hyundai’s and Kia’s on the road ……
i started a thread on this back at SC a few months ago…
i would love to see them move to the mid-atlantic region…
1.)DC-N.V
2.)Ct./NJ
3.)Philly-my personal pick since it’s where i live…the only issue is we only have one international airport
4) Near Western NC biofuel production.
http://www.wral.com/news/news_briefs/story/6172139/
I’d say N. Wilkesboro but even Lowes (home improvement) is leaving that area for Mooresville NC
Besides proximity to a customer base, what does a region HQ location really bring to the customer? It’s not like design will be driven from North America. N. America is just a big piece in a muc larger global puzzle. It’s not like Saab N.A. will show up at track day or a fast food parking lot car gathering. It’s not like Saab HQ people will talk to customers at a dealership regardless of whether the HQ is in Royal Oak MI or CT.
If location is about “attitude”, I’ve worked in MI and the Northeast US. Companies in both locations can easily build an HQ staff the could sink the company. It would be my guess that location choice comes down to “best tax breaks.”
Detroit real estate is cheap but not really in Royal Oak (affluent suburb)
Also Michigan taxes suck
Kind of like if you buy a car for 1/2 the money but it burns 2x the fuel it is no savings…
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