mikeyb
10-13-2005, 09:04 AM
Saab has benefited from Cadillac's European launch, thanks to General Motors's decision to manufacture the Cadillac BLS at the Swedish marque's factory in Trollhatten.
Speaking to 4Car at the 9-5 launch, Saab MD Jan-Ake Jonsson refuted suggestions from industry-watchers that cash-strapped and loss-making GM has neglected investment in Saab in favour of massive expenditure to relaunch the Cadillac brand in Europe. Indeed, Saab has, somewhat ironically, had its future safeguarded by the Cadillac programme.
Although GM has announced its decision to build the next-generation 9-3 and 9-5 (scheduled now for 2009) at the Opel plant in Ruesselsheim, Germany, the underused factory in Saab's home town of Trollhatten, Sweden, is to build the Cadillac BLS and further upcoming Cadillacs on the same platform, such as the BRX, and selected niche vehicles, probably including the 9-4X.
Jonsson carefully refuted suggestions that Saab had lost out in GM's latest reshuffling and from its Cadillac programme, which includes the promotion of Cadillac as GM's top-end luxury brand in Europe, saying: "Saab and Cadillac are going after two totally different types of customer. I don't think that any Saab customer would buy a Cadillac, or any Cadillac customer a Saab. They are very different propositions. We are going to build the BLS in Trollhatten; it is a very important job for us, Cadillac is important to us. Cadillac in Europe has a lot of potential, it can compete with bigger Mercedes and BMW models, whereas we are more of a lower-end premium brand. But many of our dealers will get Cadillacs in their showrooms. It is a very good complementary brand."
source:http://www.channel4.com/4car/news/news-story.jsp?news_id=13164
Speaking to 4Car at the 9-5 launch, Saab MD Jan-Ake Jonsson refuted suggestions from industry-watchers that cash-strapped and loss-making GM has neglected investment in Saab in favour of massive expenditure to relaunch the Cadillac brand in Europe. Indeed, Saab has, somewhat ironically, had its future safeguarded by the Cadillac programme.
Although GM has announced its decision to build the next-generation 9-3 and 9-5 (scheduled now for 2009) at the Opel plant in Ruesselsheim, Germany, the underused factory in Saab's home town of Trollhatten, Sweden, is to build the Cadillac BLS and further upcoming Cadillacs on the same platform, such as the BRX, and selected niche vehicles, probably including the 9-4X.
Jonsson carefully refuted suggestions that Saab had lost out in GM's latest reshuffling and from its Cadillac programme, which includes the promotion of Cadillac as GM's top-end luxury brand in Europe, saying: "Saab and Cadillac are going after two totally different types of customer. I don't think that any Saab customer would buy a Cadillac, or any Cadillac customer a Saab. They are very different propositions. We are going to build the BLS in Trollhatten; it is a very important job for us, Cadillac is important to us. Cadillac in Europe has a lot of potential, it can compete with bigger Mercedes and BMW models, whereas we are more of a lower-end premium brand. But many of our dealers will get Cadillacs in their showrooms. It is a very good complementary brand."
source:http://www.channel4.com/4car/news/news-story.jsp?news_id=13164