It’s another killer month for Swedish Saab sales. This is really getting painful and when things get this painful, I quite naturally turn and blame the government 🙂
First to the data:
Saab 9-3 sales have slipped to #6 on the Swedish sales chart (organised by YTD sales) and now sits behind that inconic Swedish masterpiece, the Kia C’eed in the sales table. I’m sure Maud’s enjoying driving her Kia even as we speak, but I digress.
There were 255 sales of Saab 9-3s during July 2009. This is a remarkable fall from the 880 sold in the same month last year. And we thought that was bad at the time.
There were just 136 units of the Saab 9-5 sold in July 2009, which is down from the 508 sold in the same month last year.
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191 of those Saab 9-3s were BioPower models. Whilst the 9-3 still ranks solidly in the ‘green’ sales chart it is way down on last year and there are a number of new vehicles entering this category from different makes.
111 of the Saab 9-5 sales were BioPower.
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Cars are selling in Sweden, albeit at reduced numbers. Saabs are selling in numbers that are way below the fall in the total market and I can’t believe that this is not doing harm to Saab’s reputation in their all important home market.
That sales total for July is less than 400 vehicles for all of Saab’s range in Sweden. This time last year they sold 25% more than that – 508 vehicles – just with the 9-5 range!!
I know the Swedish government have a party platform to uphold and I know that the bashing of Saab and GM has been popular with the voter base (heck, bashing GM is almost becoming a past-time here at SU central) but surely they also have an obligation to assist vital national industry where it’s warranted.
They indicated this when they set up their emergency fund, but so far not one cent has been paid from it to what is one of their most vital export industries.
They don’t have to build the company and make it successful, but surely they can assist and give the company a fair chance at holding on until new owners come on board.
I don’t know whether it’s low inventories or a decimated public opinion about the company, but sales are in the toilet and Saab needs help.
What’s the bet that if it were an election year, they’d have got it already?
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