Despite a sustained period of silence on behalf of the Swedish company things have been tense for them over the last few months.
Happily though, that series of doom & gloom moments has been wiped away by how Saab was able to seal the deal with the Chinese at Pang Da and another company from the same country.
Saab being back on track is a great bit of news, but greater still, the company claims that they will also be making three new models.
As part of the agreement Saab signed with Pang Da and Zhejiang Youngman Lotus Automobile Co the Swedish will have to get cracking on and, eventually, build these three new models that are so tentatively called the 9-1, the 9-6X and the 9-7.
We’re not sure what’s the gain from these three new models coming in but it should be interesting to follow. Perhaps it’s part of a plan to make a better business case for themselves so that the Chinese Government as well as the European Investment Bank will approve the deal.
There have been cases before where deals didn’t get the authority agreements and therefore it is probably good business sense to take this route.
On the less bureaucratic side, it’s very important for us to know about these new cars because they all sound very tempting.
A new Saab 9-1 would clearly be an entry level to the brand, possibly related to the revival of the 92 we’ve heard a long time ago about.
If our assumption is accurate, in a few years time, Saab’s 9-1 could be a rival for the BMW 1 Series and the Mercedes A Class.
The second new model that Swedish designers and engineers will have to come up with is called the 9-6X. Given the company’s name designations and the X at the end of it this could most likely be an SUV.
Possibly a bigger brother to the Saab 9-4X it could be a rival for the likes of the Mercedes GL or it could be a seven seater school-run SUV.
The crown jewel of Saab’s new models would definitely be the 9-7. A Saab 9-7 should be the flagship of the company and the most luxurious car the Swedish will end up making.
Let’s not forget that at this level, the most likely competitors are the BMW 7 Series, the Mercedes S Class and the Audi A8 and since neither of them is willing to let go of market share, there’s a difficult life ready for the Saab 9-7 already.
