Photo: Saab/NEVS
To say Saab has gone through a lot over the past 30 years would be an understatement. The Swedish marque that has been effectively defunct for over five years seems to be a magnet for bad luck. As most of you already know, Saab's assets are owned by NEVS, which is owned by the Chinese Evergrande Group.
Reports from earlier this month showed that Evergrande is not doing well financially. The company is part of a larger conglomerate in China, but the part we are most interested in here, in this article, is the one that Evergrande (through NEVS) owns some of Saab's assets. Evergrande is interested in selling those assets, along with the rights to the Saab brand.
Their statements on the matter make it seem as if they do not want to get rid of Saab, but have no other choice. I find it curious, and keep wondering if the Swedish brand will ever return to the market and what it will look like. I think there is a long wait ahead for whoever wants such a thing.
It's as if those assets are cursed, and whatever company gets to own them eventually winds up in financial problems. If this were just the second time this happened, you could call this a coincidence.
Back in 2010 through 2021, GM agreed to sell Saab to Spyker Cars. Eventually, Spyker Cars ran into financial problems, stopped making vehicles, and the company went bankrupt in January 2021.
Before that happened, while General Motors was the owner of Saab, the American conglomerate filed for a Chapter 11 reorganization on June 1, 2009. At this point, you may say that both the GM and the Spyker bankruptcies were a coincidence, right? I would like to remind you that the Saab brand was restructured into an independent company back in 1989, three decades after Saab AB merged with Scania-Vabis AB.
I do not know about you, but I am counting three big dips in just three decades here, and now we have the whole Evergrande issue. This time, it is claimed that several groups are interested in the last of Saab's assets.
It is unclear what a company could possibly do without the Griffon logo, which was not part of the Saab deal, to begin with, and the Saab name is not exactly hot right now if you think about it.
Before you consider just using Saab technology on a company's new models, the last Saab made by NEVS was an MY2014 car, based on GM's Epsilon I platform that hails from 2002.
Yes, but NEVS built a 9-3EV in its Tianjin factory in China, so that is a new Saab, right? Well, not quite, as it was only sold in China and was still based on the Epsilon platform. Not exactly cutting-edge material in 2021.
So, there is no recent technology for another company to use, which leaves us with the Saab name as the only valuable thing that another company could use if it bought Saab's former assets from NEVS's owners at Evergrande Group.
While I am not an expert on branding, I can say that there is only so much one could do with a brand that has not sold a new car through its showrooms in almost a decade.
In today's world, some brands that are all the rage these days did not exist a decade ago, and it will be difficult to get people to find love and appreciation for a brand that has effectively died years ago.
While Saab did have a strong fan club in the U.S. and even in other countries over a decade ago, back when it was still owned by GM, you can clearly say that the same does not happen today. Except for a few die-hard fans who happen to own multiple examples of Saab cars, it is tough to think of someone else who loves this brand that much.
Even those hardcore fans would think twice before buying a new Saab car. Regardless of what company will own Saab whenever the opportunity arises to buy a new Saab vehicle. And there lies the issue. Having a fan base is not enough, as the brand needs to have customers, not just fans, to be able to support itself in the long run.
The potential owners of Saab's former assets will have to have that figured out before buying what is left of the Swedish marque from its Chinese owners. I do have one more thing to add: if their Chinese owners did not have enough money to get things sorted, how much money should whoever buys Saab have to get the marque to rise from its grave?
Their statements on the matter make it seem as if they do not want to get rid of Saab, but have no other choice. I find it curious, and keep wondering if the Swedish brand will ever return to the market and what it will look like. I think there is a long wait ahead for whoever wants such a thing.
It's as if those assets are cursed, and whatever company gets to own them eventually winds up in financial problems. If this were just the second time this happened, you could call this a coincidence.
Back in 2010 through 2021, GM agreed to sell Saab to Spyker Cars. Eventually, Spyker Cars ran into financial problems, stopped making vehicles, and the company went bankrupt in January 2021.
Before that happened, while General Motors was the owner of Saab, the American conglomerate filed for a Chapter 11 reorganization on June 1, 2009. At this point, you may say that both the GM and the Spyker bankruptcies were a coincidence, right? I would like to remind you that the Saab brand was restructured into an independent company back in 1989, three decades after Saab AB merged with Scania-Vabis AB.
I do not know about you, but I am counting three big dips in just three decades here, and now we have the whole Evergrande issue. This time, it is claimed that several groups are interested in the last of Saab's assets.
It is unclear what a company could possibly do without the Griffon logo, which was not part of the Saab deal, to begin with, and the Saab name is not exactly hot right now if you think about it.
Before you consider just using Saab technology on a company's new models, the last Saab made by NEVS was an MY2014 car, based on GM's Epsilon I platform that hails from 2002.
Yes, but NEVS built a 9-3EV in its Tianjin factory in China, so that is a new Saab, right? Well, not quite, as it was only sold in China and was still based on the Epsilon platform. Not exactly cutting-edge material in 2021.
So, there is no recent technology for another company to use, which leaves us with the Saab name as the only valuable thing that another company could use if it bought Saab's former assets from NEVS's owners at Evergrande Group.
While I am not an expert on branding, I can say that there is only so much one could do with a brand that has not sold a new car through its showrooms in almost a decade.
In today's world, some brands that are all the rage these days did not exist a decade ago, and it will be difficult to get people to find love and appreciation for a brand that has effectively died years ago.
While Saab did have a strong fan club in the U.S. and even in other countries over a decade ago, back when it was still owned by GM, you can clearly say that the same does not happen today. Except for a few die-hard fans who happen to own multiple examples of Saab cars, it is tough to think of someone else who loves this brand that much.
Even those hardcore fans would think twice before buying a new Saab car. Regardless of what company will own Saab whenever the opportunity arises to buy a new Saab vehicle. And there lies the issue. Having a fan base is not enough, as the brand needs to have customers, not just fans, to be able to support itself in the long run.
The potential owners of Saab's former assets will have to have that figured out before buying what is left of the Swedish marque from its Chinese owners. I do have one more thing to add: if their Chinese owners did not have enough money to get things sorted, how much money should whoever buys Saab have to get the marque to rise from its grave?
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