It’s no secret that General Motors has struggled to find buyers for its Hummer and Saab brands and that it is still unclear what the Detroit automaker plans to do with the equally fledgling Saturn brand – even as the February 17 viability plan deadline approaches. Apparently GM is running low on ideas for the three brands, leaving their futures especially in doubt.
The most likely scenario rumored around Detroit for two of the brands – Hummer and Saturn – is that GM will simply close the units, despite potential dealer lawsuits. GM has to present a plan for viability to the United States Congress on February 17, though just how specific the automaker will have to be remains unclear as the Obama team is still selecting advisers.
GM has asked third parties to run Saturn by absorbing its dealerships, revitalizing the product lines and even renaming the brands – thus giving a separate company a full-service that includes access to production facilities, development teams and distribution networks. If not for the global economic downturn, this would likely be a fast sell given Saturn has traditionally operated very independently from General Motors, from development down to free-standing dealerships.
Yet a source tells Automotive News that GM hasn’t had any success jettisoning Saturn and that GM is actively contemplating killing off the brand.
Hummer has been on the market since late summer, but the $500 million asking price would buy a brand with a questionable future. Sales tanked when gas prices rose and they’re not expected to recover – especially given the difficulty of making Hummer meet upcoming fuel economy standards.
Still, Automotive News reports that sources at GM say there’s an interested party, likely expected to salvage Hummer by focusing on international sales where fuel economy standards aren’t as strict – if they exist at all. A Middle Eastern, Chinese or Indian buyer seems most likely.
Hummer’s future is very much in doubt.
And that takes us to Saab , considered by many analysts as the most valuable of GM’s three up-for-sale brands thanks to well-recognized cachet, high-output but low displacement engines and a strong European sales presence.
GM hopes to make Saab an autonomous company, essentially handing over products, facilities and distribution to a party in Sweden, a source told Automotive News.
“We’re trying to see how much of Saab we could isolate,” the source said.
The plan would take Saab out of GM’s global product and manufacturing system – not something that could easily be achieved in the near future given that Saab’s products rely heavily on GM-sourced platforms and components, but the potential for long-term viability is there.
Saab, unlike Saturn and Hummer, would have an almost entirely fresh lineup in mere months if things were to continue as planned. The 9-4X crossover and 9-3X all-wheel-drive wagon are set for debuts in coming auto shows – probably Geneva in just a month for the 9-3X. And then there’s the 9-5 sedan, Saab’s flagship, which is long overdue for a redesign. A source close to automaker told Leftlane that it’s “work of Scandinavian art” that is a “true Saab.” The 9-5 is planned to launch in time for the 2010 model-year.
Apparently all things are go at Saab for those three models, which would make it a much more compelling autonomous brand for investors. Still, questions remain in Sweden over Saab’s future as an independent manufacturer. Most agree that Saab wouldn’t be here today had GM not stepped in and purchased 50 percent of the brand in 1990 – but 2008′s auto market is difficult to compare to 1990′s.
Small brands face numerous difficulties competing in the price-sensitive mainstream market, so it’s expected that an independent Saab would have to seek significant partnerships with other brands – and potential would-be suitor Fiat is now engaged to Chrysler .
GM is focusing all of its future product plans on its “core” brands – Buick , Cadillac , Chevrolet , GMC and a much-reduced Pontiac.
