Koenigsegg reportedly rejects 81 out of 218 U.S. Saab dealers
2010 Saab 9-5 - Click above for high-res image gallery
According to Automotive News, Federal Express letters arrived at 81 of Saab's 218 dealers on Thursday stating that their franchises had not been selected to move forward and become a dealer for the post-sale entity, Saab Cars North America. The package from General Motors said that Swedish supercar maker Koenigsegg, Saab's buyer, had selected only certain stores based on its business plan requiring strong, well-located dealers showing profits and high volume.
All Saab dealers signed termination agreements in June when GM entered bankruptcy. The dealers who received reject letters today will follow the terms of those agreements. Meanwhile, the remaining 137 U.S. Saab dealers will have to wait patiently until the end of November when the sale is scheduled to close (although those close to the deal say it may take longer). Current Saab dealer contracts with GM will not expire until October 2010, at which point the remaining dealers will sign new franchise agreements with Saab Cars North America.
Gallery: 2010 Saab 9-5
[Source: Automotive News, subs. req'd]
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 2)
artso06 2:42PM (11/13/2009)
Good for Koenigsegg. Doesn't fit the plan let them go. Many dealers under GM were either left to waste or just run poorly....As a side note: Dealers should represent your brand, they provide the first interaction with the company. If your dealers/stores look cheap, your product will feel cheap (GM i felt had a huge problem with this). Dealers should be in good locations and provide a good service. Kinda feel like it is a no brainier but is looked over many times.
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British_Rover 2:51PM (11/13/2009)
Yup we got our letter that we survived yesterday.
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xphilter 2:54PM (11/13/2009)
is there any list of the dealers who got the axe?
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Alex 3:03PM (11/13/2009)
Wow, 2.75 dealers per state. Obviously it doesn't break down like that but just shows how small a company they are in the auto world. I can think of two in my area. One is a stand alone dealer and the other is a Saab/Cadillac dealer. Both have been updated with in the last three years and seem to push product well. I'm guessing both will remain.
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Gardiner Westbound 3:12PM (11/13/2009)
SAAB doesn't sell many cars in North America. One wonders how any dealer could be considered "high volume".
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British_Rover 3:17PM (11/13/2009)
We were in the top 10 for the whole country last month with seven cars.
Epsilon-Not 3:20PM (11/13/2009)
I'd imagine that right now is especially bad, though, from what I hear dealers are unable to get new product until the sale finally goes through?
Jared 3:28PM (11/13/2009)
7 cars a month? That's less than 100 cars per year. How can you run a business selling 100 cars a month at that price point?
British_Rover 5:17PM (11/13/2009)
Well during normal times we sell more then twice that many new SAABs a month and we sell a ton of used cars too. We are a dual point SAAB and Volvo dealership and of course always sell more Volvos then SAABs.
Yes we are still selling 2009 SAABs and haven't gotten in any 2010 SAABs yet. AFAIK no 2010 SAABs are even in the country yet.
Clavius 5:34PM (11/13/2009)
I think it was last month or two month's ago the Saab dealership I work for was number 1 in the country and we barely topped 20 cars, while Herb Chambers was actually at a -1 (figure that one out lol).
Saab is hurting primarily due to being unable to lease. I see sooooo many customers walk out the door sadly due to us not being able to lease them a Saab.
British_Rover 7:25PM (11/13/2009)
@Clavius Yeah I saw that too and I think it was last month. Herb Chambers got the -1 because they reversed one of the SAABs they sold in September during the month of October but didn't sell any new SAABs in October.
They probably had an iffy deal at the end of the month in September and punched a car sold as a paper delivery before the customer actually picked it up. The customer ended up backing out and so they had to reverse the RDR.
That has happened to me a couple of times but I never blanked during the next month so I never got a -1 new cars sold for the month.
JimBob 3:21PM (11/13/2009)
Saab dealers exist? I can't recall having ever seen one, and I live in a major metro area.
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Sue Esponte 4:13PM (11/13/2009)
I live within 25 miles of 6 dealers and 2 are Saab are within 5-10 miles of my house. Both showrooms sell only Saabs and have a long standing presence in the area. New England is Saab country...and maybe even parts of the Pacific Northwest. Saab sales have always been much smaller outside of those regions.
As for recent months sales, as I understand it from speaking to salesmen, Saab dealers have been reduced to selling existing inventory for the past several months. That may have changed recently or it may be in the process of changing with the new 9-5 coming out but I wouldn't make much of last month's sales. It doesn't mean anything.
jim 5:29PM (11/13/2009)
I live with in 50 miles of two Saab only dealers.
the4thheat 6:14AM (11/14/2009)
I've seen a single Saab dealership in my life and I've traveled quite a bit.
Wait, that's not true, I think I've seen two although the other one was was 12 time zones away.
ahkmel foley 3:34PM (11/13/2009)
I hope that Fox Saab in Grand Rapids gets the axe. They're the worst Saab dealership in the entire state.
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Art 3:34PM (11/13/2009)
I wish it read:Koeniggsegg will start selling cars at Saab dealers
:(
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Sue Esponte 4:29PM (11/13/2009)
I'm guessing you live in Fairfield County :)
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H1 Alpha 5:22PM (11/13/2009)
The nearest Saab dealer to me shut down and moved across the street to the Hummer Dealership, (Hummer/Saab) which was built from the ground up to be Hummer only. The old Saab dealership building which was recently extensively updated is now a John Deere dealership.
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scott 6:44PM (11/13/2009)
i will buy a saab after 2010, then i will know gm has no part in it. to me, gm degraded saab.
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