Is There Any Need For Swede?

Another day, yet another swing in the fortunes (or lack thereof) of troubled Swedish car maker Saab. Today it's announced it can once again afford to pay its staff, following an order for 582 new cars from a Chinese buyer (presumably a fleet sale then.) The advance payment of 13 million euro has bought breathing space for Saab, allowing it to pay its staff, momentarily, one assumes, and keep its head above water for a few more weeks.

This is hardly encouraging news however. Instead of a solid foundation for which to recover upon, this looks more look like yet another death throe in the slow, painful demise of the quirky company. To exist, and thrive in the car industry, your cars need to be flowing out of showrooms with healthy demand and favourable reviews. Save for the ice-cool styling of the new 9-5, Saab has enjoyed neither of late, and with the solitary other model being the elderly, ever-facelifted 9-3, there's no obvious recovery route. Yet more fantasy motor show concepts are a disgraceful waste of resources as well.

The 9-4X crossover is irrelevant in most of Europe for its lack of diesel option, and even if the mechanical package was competitve, who is going to pay a premium over standard GM underpinnings for the sake of an unconventional badge? Especially one whose infrastructure and future is shakier than a Premier League footballer's wedding vows. And so the vicious economc circle continues.

The Swedish do make good cars, but they are very aware of the place within the market that they occupy. Volvo would love to challenge BMW for the keen drivers executive market, but at heart they're honest load luggers for unassuming individuals for whom a car is a useful comfortable tool. Then you have Koenigsegg, at the opposite end of the spectrum ,who exploded onto the scene with the 240mph CC and have been building ever more improbably powerful versions of it since, up to the most recent 1115bhp Agera R. If you want a rareified hypercar with a targa roof and ski-box, the Swedes are yet again your go-to people.

But one can't help feeling the end is nigh for Saab. Here's hoping there's already a contingency plan in place for its loyal, beleagured staff, and their fragile job security. If it comes to pass, it'll be a sad end for a stoically left field and innovative manufacturer, and refreshing alternative to the German norm. But for all its jet-fighter expertise, Saab has indeed stalled, and may well plunge to oblivion before the year is out.

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