Penske to Kill Saturn Brand in Canada

Although it was seen as a life-saving move that could bring Saturn back on track in the markets in which it sells cars, Penske's purchase of the company proves to be a huge restructuring process that might discontinue the brand in certain regions around the world. The first is Canada which might "lose" the Saturn brand as Penske is now planning to close the stores in the country. The reason? Poor sales and reduced interest for the brand.

According to a report by radio-canada.com, 30 dealerships have already stopped operations and the remaining 30 are likely to do the same in the near future. Such a mass closure would affect around 2,000 people who are more or less involved in the business, the source wrote.

What's interesting is that the strong dealership network it owns is actually one of the things Penske praised when it purchased Saturn.

"Saturn has a passionate customer base and outstanding dealer network," Roger Penske, Penske Automotive Group chairman added. "For nearly 20 years Saturn has focused on treating the customer right. We share that philosophy, and we want to build on those strengths."

Furthermore, Penske established a new plan in June to convince Saturn's dealers to continue with the new owner.

"This doesn't require them to sign an agreement," Steve Janisse, Saturn spokesman was quoted as saying by the Autonews back in June. "It's just an informational piece talking about the terms of the sale and offering them an opportunity to transition to this new owner."

A thing worth mentioning is that some Saturn dealers are also selling Saab models in Canada so we're still waiting to see whether Penske plans to require them to close operations or wait for them to give up on selling Saturn.