Two major Swedish dealerships giving up on Saab
August 22, 2011 in News
Last week the news popped about dealerships now starting to leave Saab in Sweden. We’ve been hearing the rumors for some time now that this would happen at the end of August if it was clear that the production most likely would not start on the 29th of August.
The first one to quit was Holmgrens who has its HQ in Jönköping about 1,5 hours east of Gothenburg. This dealership sells cars in several cities including Jönköping, Nässjö, Vetlanda, Vimmerby, Västervik, Värnamo and Gislaved. According to Holmgrens they are ranked as the top 5 dealer in the world when it comes to selling Saab, which is not surprising. I was actually in Jönköping last week and its amazing to see the amount of Saabs rolling around on the streets there.
The dealerships will continue to service existing cars and to replace Saab they are now introducing BMW and Mini. The second bad news came this weekend from Malmö in the south of Sweden. The dealership Bilpartner which is one of the biggest dealerships in Sweden has removed all Saab’s that were on display and stops all sales of Saab at its different dealerships around southern Sweden. We have decided to take a “time-out” with Saab since it today is impossible to give the car buyers any good message about when they might be able to get a car, if they are at all going to say Chairman of Bilpartner Anders Carlsson to the newspaper sydsvenskan. - If we are to sell new Saabs again a clear message is required that Saab has solved its financial problems and that production and deliveries can be resumed. At all 10 dealerships all new Saabs will be removed and replaced with other brands such as Kia, Hyundai, Citroën, Opel, Alfa Romeo and Fiat. The sales are good right now, Kia and Hyundai are selling well but especially Citroën is attractive by former Saab drivers say Anders Carlsson. The good news and major difference between Holmgrens and Bilpartner is that Bilpartner does not have any plans to cancel their dealership agreement with Saab right now. We have taken a stance of wait and see. We used to be a majority Saab dealership but back in 2005 when we realized that the brand was getting into trouble we introduced other brands into the dealership.
Tobbe said on August 22, 2011
Lets hope for some positive news soon.
Friends of mine that are driving Saab, and are going to change there cars in the near future, will not buy Saab because of all trouble..
KarlR said on August 22, 2011
Tobbe, I hear that everyday.
The main problem for all is spareparts. They dont exist right now. But hope is the last thing that goes.
Grumpy said on August 22, 2011
With dealers like that, who needs competitors?
I wonder how long the cancellation time is on these contracts, it isn’t over night that is for sure.
Troels, Denmark said on August 22, 2011
Sad, sad, sad
Trued said on August 22, 2011
Holmgrens was part of an article in Dagens Industry the other day. http://di.se/Artiklar/2011/8/19/242968/Stor-bilaterforsaljare-sager-upp-kontraktet-med-S/
I say shame on Holmgrens for being such cowards. The arguments where at a low level water mark. Talking about morale etc. etc.
Daniel B said on August 22, 2011
+1! Agree about the arguments…
Tolstoy Syndrome said on August 22, 2011
Is it shameful that Holmgren’s taking care of their own business? Being a coward has hardly anything to do with it. SAAB is hardly consistent with high ethical standards nowadays.
Daniel B said on August 22, 2011
No Tolstoy. It is not. But their foremost argument was that the board members of SWAN (not Saab) had raised their compensation, and the bonuses for the work done in 2010, that (by the way) they have said that they will not take out until Saab is on it´s feet again. So IMHO Holmgrens is using that as an excuse which I find rather embarassing instead of just telling the truth, which of course is that their sales has gone down due to Saabs situation the last 4 months.
THAT is the truth and I don´t blame them at all. It is just sad.
Hans H said on August 22, 2011
+1
Rune said on August 22, 2011
I may be a bit naiive, but I find it odd they use the compensations as an excuse. That piece of news was not picked up until very recently, yet surely their decision to dump Saab must have been planned a bit longer than that…
Basically they want to promote their new brand by torching all the old bridges. Their new partner should take note concerning the way Holmgren dealt with an old business partner.
Red J said on August 22, 2011
And at the end all this compensation BS was false!!!!
But some here won’t believe it as the information comes from Saab.
Pedro said on August 22, 2011
@Red J – Pretty sure the sentence “The board members have not received any compensation since January 1, 2010″ must be a typo, as the Spyker AR 2010 clearly states that there was cash compensation during 2010… And I couldn’t find a mention nowhere in the AR 2010 that that compensation was not paid. Sure Swade didn’t mean 2011?
Red J said on August 22, 2011
Pedro,
You better ask him.
In any case this increase in compensations hasn’t been paid, rendering the objections of Holgrens obsolete.
As I’ve said before, it is OK that a Saab dealer says that he doesn’t not believe any more in Saab or that he say that he needs to sell another brand to ensure a regular income to be able to maintain his business.
jouni72 said on August 22, 2011
There is something new about compensation thing in Insidesaab website.
Khrisdk said on August 22, 2011
No. Not that they are taking care of their business.
More the fact that they used a moral stance to get airtime promoting that they are now dealing BMW at 3 of their stores.
I could misread what they did, but is sure looked like that as their point
Which makes me question their moral
GrumpyGriffin said on August 22, 2011
Agreed, the chairman of that company is smugly using Saabs problems and bad publicity to gain his company some free advertising, not a way to make friends, but then smugness and selling BMW go hand in hand, lets hope that one day Saab is in a position to repay the favour.
Grumpy said on August 22, 2011
+1
Daniel B said on August 22, 2011
Very sad, but to some point understandable. They need to protect their businesses.
If one go that´s ok, but if two or three go, many will follow, and that is what REALLY messes up the trust in the brand.
Hopefully we´ll here som REALLY positive news this week. It is needed indeed.
Griffin up!
Tobbe said on August 22, 2011
+1
Zizou said on August 22, 2011
++1
Olav said on August 22, 2011
I hate to say this, but I don’t blame them. Even I, a long time die hard SAAB enthusiast, have now started to loose faith about SAAB’s future. My wife though is still a strong believer about SAAB’s survival (and off course I listen to her
) , so there won’t be a red Volvo V60 in R-Design in our garage yet. A red, next gen 9-3 Hatchback is still first on the list, but the distance to the competitors is shrinking…….
It is sad, really sad all this negative about our beloved car manufacturer.
SAAB UP……
Cheers from Norway
-Olav-
Always on the longest road home when out there with my SAAB. Always!
Daniel B said on August 22, 2011
A white NG 9-3 SC with eAAM XWD for me thanks!
Audun said on August 22, 2011
+1
I look very much forward to the future of Saab. And I hope that I can buy the next 9-3 with eAAM XWD in some years.
900SE said on August 22, 2011
From an objective point of view, the fact of the matter is this…..no business can survive on promises. Its almost 5 months since the production line has stopped and no real and ferm answer to when it will restart again. All the faith in Saab that was restored in the last 2 years went down the drain these last months.
Personally I still believe That Saab can make it and if I had the money, I’d buy a new one in a heartbeat.
Khrisdk said on August 22, 2011
Correct
No cars, no sales and no fixed outlook at a possible restart .
Makes perfect business sense.
I would say that Bilpartner did the clever thing by moving Saab out, while still maintaining the dealership agreement
JST1981 said on August 22, 2011
sounds like this is the only way to handle the situation in a survival-oriented way
Hans H said on August 22, 2011
I agree. Let’s just hop that when (not if) production resumes the faith may be restored. Otherwise Saab may only sell cars in China and Russia. And I would like to buy one in Sweden.
JST1981 said on August 22, 2011
Guys, in my opinion you cannot blame any dealer who turns his back to Saab in the current situation. There are bills and wages to pay and in difficult times like these
Red J said on August 22, 2011
I think nobody here is blaming any dealer for not believing any more in Saab, which is sad. But same blame the reasons given by Holmgren to do so.
JST1981 said on August 22, 2011
..you can’t just simply wait for Saab to overcome their difficulties.
saablover said on August 22, 2011
I believe in SAAB but we need a quick solution and production restart otherwise I need to do something else …..and leave the SAAB brand.
saab dealer from belgium
Pedro said on August 22, 2011
Are you guys a stand-alone dealer, or do you have other brands too?
saablover said on August 22, 2011
stand alone
Pedro said on August 22, 2011
So all is basically invested into SAAB: new, used and service… Must be really tough for you guys right now… =/
KarlR said on August 22, 2011
I probably gets the shit to post this here but anyway. VM sold stocks in Swan last week worth 21milj sek
http://www.afm.nl/nl/professionals/registers/alle-huidige-registers/bestuurders-en-commissarissen.aspx?id=12120
Not the sign you would like to give if you are a serious CEO and belive in the company you running and own.
Khrisdk said on August 22, 2011
Did you read Swades answer to that?
I cant remember the thread, but it was one of the marathon ones,probably the one on Endeavour
Khrisdk said on August 22, 2011
ahh..here me thinx
Swade said on August 22, 2011
Correct. Thanks for noticing……
Daniel B said on August 22, 2011
He has got his own reasons for this, and we should not read to much into it at all…
In order to catch the big fish and get hold of larger money, he maight need som pocketmoney…
Audun said on August 22, 2011
+1
Rune said on August 22, 2011
KarlR, it all depends on his reasoning. It could be as simple as having to pay some taxes. Similar happens with serious CEOs all the time.
The lack of hard news forces us to read tea-leaves I suppose, but could we keep it to a minimum please?
SAAB-CAAB said on August 22, 2011
You propose VM just had to pay some taxes and that’s why he sold over 3 mln shares of SWAN?
And because he had to pay taxes, SWAN felt sorry for him and gave him the same number of stock options in return?
I disagree this happens all the time as you claim. CEO’s don’t “just” sell stock of their company. It is about the worst possible signal a CEO could send to the market.
As a “security” in these situations, stock do not have to be transferred. They can easier be lend under an agreement with GEM.
The stock options give VM/Tenaci the right, but not the obligation(!), to buy back the shares. Only executed of course when the price in the option is lower than the market price at that moment. As I wrote earlier: the price risk of these stock is no longer in the hands of VM/Tenaci. It has been transferred to the market or to GEM (and then to the market).
In a situation where dillution for the shareholders is enourmous, this would be a very convenient “side effect”.
Funny that you say VM but also serious CEO’s do this…
Rune said on August 22, 2011
Saab-Caab, heck no, that is not what I am saying at all.
I am saying that there are any number of perfectly good reasons for him to do that. And it could easily be linked to improving the situation for the company as well.
My main point is that idle speculation serves nobody, as was the case with the ‘news’ about the renumaration alledgedly receives by the board. Now it turns out that they have not received anything and won’t receive anything until they are back on track.
So we have already had one storm in a water glass. Could we please keep those to a minimum?
Pedro said on August 22, 2011
You are not getting SAAB-CAAB’s point… What SAAB-CAAB is writing is that VM got paid for the shares he sold and got cash and a given number of stock options. Those stock options give him the right (but not the obligation! Important aspect!), to buy SWAN stock, so if SWAN disappears right now, VM already made the money from selling the shares. VM put himself in a position in which all of the risk is transferred from the original holder of the shares (VM) to whoever bought them (GEM?), so in effect he stands to profit from this deal if SAAB eventually closes down as he would keep that money and SWAN would basically be out of business. That’s what SAAB-CAAB described as a very bad signal for investors (which it is).
Hans H said on August 22, 2011
I agree. The tea-leaves are not an authorized news source.
sgns said on August 22, 2011
+9000! anything has negative angles. Anything. And there are always reasons to give up.
Pedro said on August 22, 2011
Agreed, SAAB-CAAB: being in a position to profit from your own company’s stock value decrease is not the best signal a CEO can give to investors and the public at large.
JST1981 said on August 22, 2011
KarlR: I remember a guy called Carl-Peter Forster (I think well known to everybody) who did the same thing before GM almost died. Hopefully not a rolemodel for VM
Zizou said on August 22, 2011
Maybe Saab should think about new distribution channels. Maybe some sort of innovativ direct marketing, supported by functional workshop structure at the bottom. Lot´s of costs to save and also cars could be cheaper because of the missing distribution step…
slogan: Let’s go the whole hog, when crawling out of the coffin again
900_S said on August 22, 2011
I don’t blame them, as others have said: business is business. I don’t even blame the one for using the time to announce what they filled Saab’s slot with; I don’t see anything unfair about it. I’m curious how many dealerships who dropped Saab would pick them back up again once things look positive. That’d be a good question to ask some of these places. Besides, doesn’t anyone think there will be dealerships stepping in to take their place when things turn around? I’m not saying it’ll be easy as losing dealerships, just thinking positive.
Pedro said on August 22, 2011
This is definitely not good news…
To be honest, I think the only reason Bilpartner didn’t tear the SAAB contract apart is that they don’t have a higher-end brand in their portfolio (unless Alfa Romeo and Chrysler-Jeep do that for them, which I sincerely doubt); Holmgrens securing a BMW/MINI franchise added premium brands at SAAB’s expense. Bilpartner’s wording is different from Holmgrens in tone only.
gawdlpus said on August 22, 2011
In the next few weeks I have heard strong rumours that a few dealers in the UK will be giving up on Saab.
Certainly the number of Saab specialists and franchise dealers has greatly reduced over the last couple of years.
As I have said before very few people wanted the franchise before these problems.
Pedro said on August 22, 2011
Not that surprising… I see the multi-brand dealers jumping ship first: they have a portfolio that allows them to do that and usually multi-brand dealers are part of groups that have several several locations, i.e., they’re bigger companies. If and when the stand-alone dealers decide to close shop, that’s when the situation will beyond repair IMHO.
mazaratti said on August 22, 2011
Especially now, I would buy a new Saab if I had the money!
Saab needs support, and the best support is to buy a Saab and to show that the brand is needed.
I am driving Saabs for 10 years now, and I will never ever drive a different car as God wills!
sgns said on August 22, 2011
I have a strong sense God wills Saab to exist!
katar1na said on August 22, 2011
YEAH! And here´s the arguments for that statement:
You´re in HEAVEN when driving SAAB =)
sgns said on August 22, 2011
Okay! =) Also I like this: “Everyone who has ever built anywhere a ‘new heaven’ first found the power thereto in his own hell” (Friedrich Nietzsche). Would Saab be Saab without the challenges they overcome? They’ll get even better from this. Every story about something good is a story about the results of valuable knowledge accruing from big difficulties, and how they managed to use that to turn the situation into a ‘new heaven’.
KarlR said on August 22, 2011
SAAB-CAAB, I agree. Its fishy.
jond said on August 22, 2011
A question for the lawyers. Is it not illegal to offer for sale something that you don’t have and/or have no realistic chance of getting? I think that dealers may be on shaky legal grounds now for taking deposits on new Saab cars. What is the legal position here?
Pedro said on August 22, 2011
I’m not a lawyer, but what is most logic is that if SAAB orders cannot be met then they’d have to either return the money or try to convice people to move to ther brands.
Jarkko said on August 22, 2011
I got my 2008 Saab 9-3 back recently. It was standing still at the dealer for 2 months to wait for a spare part. It’s yet to come but they repaired my car with tips from the SU. (But I cannot have the MOT test now as the repair is not correct yet).
My son was driving the car and commented: “How can they have all the Saabs at the dealers’ back yard if they they don’t have spare parts for repairs?”
If the dealers don’t have spare parts to repair cars nor cars to sell what should they do other than quit?