Saab Trims Target to Break Even

As the General Motors unit tries to reach break-even, the head of GM Europe said in an advance abstract of a report in Automotive News Europe on Saturday that Swedish carmaker Saab trims down its annual sales targets.

Carl-Peter Forster, president of General Motors Europe and chairman of Saab told Automotive News Europe, said that there is a natural limit where one can earn. He therefore deduced that they have much reduced their volume ambitions, to 160,000 from 170,000.

Reports say that Forster's predecessor Peter Augustsson, who left the company in March last year, had set targets to sell 250,000 units per year.

Jan-Ake Jonsson, Saab's managing director, told the Automotive News that Saab sold 133,167 cars worldwide last year and was not profitable. He said that there is still work to do to cut down more cost. But he added that they are not that far away from break-even.

GM's Forster told German magazine Focus in an interview that sales of GM's Opel Corsa model were going better than expected.

Forster told the magazine that this year, they will sell more Corsas in Europe than planned. Rather than 400,000, it will be more than 450,000.

Forster said that Opel's overall order intake in Germany was from January to May, which was obviously worse than in the previous year, while in June it met the year 2006 level.

About Saab
The name SAAB is actually an acronym of "Svenska Aeroplan Aktiebolaget" which means "Swedish Aircraft Company." Their aircraft legacy is more than a novel piece of historical trivia: It is a persistent design philosophy that makes Saab stand out. Evidences are seen in the cockpit-inspired interiors, the ergonomic controls, and the sleek, aerodynamic lines. Saab AB manufactures broad-based systems solutions, products and services in civil security, defense, aviation and space as well as related areas in the global market. Gripen, developed by Saab AB, is the first of the new generation, multi-role combat aircraft to enter service.

The company sought ways in which to diversify its business and it started to manufacture Saab Automobiles in the late 1940s. The automobile division was based in Trollhättan with the first car being the Saab 92001 on launched in June 10, 1947.

Over the years, Saab designers have been creating innovations such as turbo engines, heated seats, active head restraint systems, cabin air filters, headlamp washers and more.

Founded by 16 aircraft engineers, the brand assures that all Saab parts meet their high quality standards.

The manufacturers of Saab jets and vehicles are no longer affiliated today.


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