Saab Dealers Running Out of Cars

[rickaren]

Saab Dealers Running Out of Cars to Sell

Posted: Nov. 17, 2009

Saab dealers are in a bind. Most of their competitors are working to sell off their last stock of 2009 model year cars because trucks laden with 2010 editions are rolling in daily. Saab dealers have 2009s left to sell, but nothing coming in their place.

“We have about 10 Saabs left, and they won’t last long,” Ivan Goodwin, sales manager at Jim Ellis Saab in Atlanta, told Bloomberg. “It’s going to be a big problem, but there is nothing we can do about it.”

General Motors is in the process of selling Saab to sports-car maker Koenigsegg Automotive, restoring the company to Swedish ownership after GM failed to make a profit with it. As sales slumped earlier this year, Saab officials "cut production to conserve cash and prepare for its first new model in seven years." There are currently no Saab factories producing cars.

The newest model, the 2010 9-5, may not arrive in the U.S. for quite some time. Kicking Tires reports, "Saab is currently retrofitting its factory and production will begin this winter with deliveries starting in early 2010, but that’s to Swedish buyers only." The company hasn’t announced when the car might reach U.S. shores. "There is no mention of the current 9-3 line resuming production," and General Motors has ceased building Saab-badged SUVs.

Some Saab dealers aren’t just running out of cars – they’re closing. USA Today reports, "GM has sent letters to 81 of its 218 U.S. Saab dealers telling them that they will lose their dealerships when the sale is expected to go through at the end of this month, a GM spokeswoman confirmed. Those that remain, 137 of them, will carry on."

Car shoppers face an uncertain landscape at Saab dealerships. Those dealers remaining open are facing slow sales and may be eager to make deals. But the news calls into question their long-term survival. Dealers are looking at an uncertain future, knowing that once they sell the cars currently on their lots, they’ll have nothing else to sell until sometime in 2010, and that's if they can hold out that long. All current Saab products share most of their parts with other GM cars, so those who buy a Saab today will be able to get their car repaired and serviced at other GM dealerships if the local Saab dealership goes under.

LINK: Saab Dealers Running Out of Cars to Sell - U.S. News Rankings and Reviews