Analyst: Saab unlikely to survive 01/11/2011
A leading auto analyst believes that Swedish car company Saab is unlikely to survive if current sales figures persist, reports the Local.
Saab initially projected that it would sell 60,000 vehicles in 2010, but it later downgraded its estimates to 45,000 in August. In October, the company reduced its projection even further, saying that it would likely sell 30,000-35,000 cars that year.
The automaker's final 2010 sales figure was 32,048 vehicles worldwide, representing barely half of their initial estimate for that year's sales.
Victor Muller, the chief executive officer of Saab owner Spyker Cars, argued that the low sales stemmed from issues with replenishing dealerships and delayed deliveries.
Auto analyst Christer Karlsson, a professor of industrial production at Copenhagen Business School, disagrees with Muller's assessment, telling the source that Saab's current sales figures are unsustainable.
"In the best case, it may drag on for up to three years," Karlsson said. "But maybe two years. Saab doesn't have the resources to develop any new generation of products; that costs several billion kronor."