Saabs on sale officially

Saab is in business again Down Under.

Australian buyers can walk into a Saab showroom right now and order a 9-3 off the floor. Dealers received the first shipment of stock last week, but the range on offer is currently limited to the 9-3 and its derivatives. That does include the new-to-Australia 9-3X however, Saab's answer to the Subaru Outback.

Manufacturer's list prices for the 9-3 models start at $46,900 for the 9-3 Sport Sedan Linear with its turbocharged 2.0-litre BioPower engine. Pricing for the high-powered Aero variant is set at $59,800. Convertibles kick off at $69,000 for the Linear grade, rising to $79,900 for the Aero. Two wagons are available: the 9-3 Sport Combi Linear ($49,400) and the diesel-engined Aero ($61,300). The 9-3X is priced at $59,800.

Saab will roll out other product new to the country over the next 12 months. According to the MD of Saab Cars Australia, Stephen Nicholls, the new 9-5 will arrive here in April, followed in October or November by the 9-5 Estate that is being launched in Geneva next month. Around the end of the year or possibly January 2012 the company will also introduce the 9-4X SUV to the Aussie market.

When the Carsales Network spoke to the new MD, Nicholls was quick to defend the 9-5 from any suggestion it might parallel the previous model in the market. The older car was too close in size to the 9-3, he said, whereas the new 9-5 is a "big beast", measuring 5.08m in length -- versus 4.85m for the older car. Although he agreed that it would be natural to compare the new 9-5 with Volvo's S80, he feels that the Saab might just as readily compare with Mercedes E-Class, BMW 5 Series and the Audi A6.

"We do get cross-shopped a lot with Volvo, just because we're both Swedish companies -- but the product philosophies are fairly different. We're happy to be put into that category, but I think the market leaders would obviously be A6, 5 Series -- and that's where we're looking to have a go..."

As we reported from the Paris Motor Show last year, Saab expects the 9-4X (pictured) to light a fire under sales in this country when it arrives. It's a type of vehicle Saab has never sold here before and is a natural for a country that loves SUVs the way Australia does. Based on what Nicholls has to say, it might prove a very well judged size of vehicle in the VFACTS luxury SUV segment.

"With the 9-4X... the size of the vehicle is about the size of the first-generation X5 -- it's not quite as big in the rear," said Nicholls. "As such, we see it as something between an X3 and an X5; we see it as something between a Q5 and a Q7. That's really the sort of area we're looking to put it into."

Nicholls comes to the job with 30 years of experience behind him, employed by Saab in the UK from the late 1970s. He moved into supply and distribution with the company from 1990, posted to Brussels. In 1996 he was appointed MD of Saab Australia and after moving into the broader region of Asia/Pacific, he now finds himself heading up the Australian end of the operation once more.

Despite the very short lead time to re-establish the brand in Australia -- effectively four months as we reported earlier -- Nicholls is content that the major logistical and operational tasks set for him are well in hand. As one example, the dealer network is a work in progress, but that's intentional.

"We have looked at the dealer network that we have ended up with from the Holden days and we have been having meetings with different groups of those dealers since about August last year. We've ended up with 11 full service dealers -- sales, service, parts, everything -- and a further 12 service-only dealers.

"What we're trying to do at the moment is just match the [sales] volume ambitions that we have, which are fairly modest for this year, with the dealer network so that we don't start trying to plant flags everywhere. We're trying to make sure that the dealers can start to make some money again from this franchise.

"We have a mixture of dealers who pre-dated the Holden era and then a few we picked up during the Holden era who have taken to the brand and worked out well -- and want to carry on with us."

With the Swedish company one of the GM Premium brands formerly supported by Holden in Australia, the latter's earlier involvement with Saab continues in some areas of operation, Nicholls added.

"We're gradually transitioning a number of areas. For example, Holden is still providing parts logistic support for us for the next couple of months as we get our act together. We have some of our computer systems still reliant on Holden infrastructure and things like that. We're gradually moving all of the Saab telephone numbers -- all of the Saab contact details -- are being answered by staff who are purely 'Saab' now."

Asked about the lack of fanfare for the re-establishment of the brand, Nicholls explained that the company will contact known Saab owners by means of a direct marketing campaign. The first mailing actually took place last week. Following the successful conclusion of that campaign, Saab will move on to such things as TV commercials and print media advertising, but this year is expected to be a "quiet" one for Saab.

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