Since gas topped the $4 mark earlier this year, small, efficient cars have been selling like gangbusters. MINI is completely sold out for 2008 and most of the efficient models on the market have been selling at a clip of 50,000 units per month. But while the segment continues to thrive, General Motors’ Saturn Astra has been left out of the action.
The Astra hit the U.S. market back and January, but has only managed to tally 7,914 sales – well short of the company’s goal of 25,000 sales. The problem doesn’t lie with the Astra itself – as we can attest to – but rather the car’s high sticker price.
When GM first decided to sell the Belgium-made Astra in the U.S., it targeted a starting price of $15,500. That price was intended to be low enough to entice buyers into Saturn showrooms, but also high enough to leave a little coin in the General’s pocket. However, the value of the dollar dropped during the Astra’s U.S. development, which ruined GM’s well laid plan.
“Well, I have to tell you, the price is no longer $15,500, and the profit is no longer there, either,” GM vice chairman Bob Lutz told Automotive News.
The Astra debuted with a price tag of $15,995, which has inflated to $16,495 over the last eight months – largely due to the poor exchange rate.
GM’s employee pricing boosted Astra sales to nearly 2,000 units in August, but it’s doubtful the Astra will see any promotion beyond that, according to GM market and sales head, Mark LaNeve. Unless GM finds a way to build the Astra in the U.S., it seems that the hatch’s days could be limited on this side of the Atlantic.
