Resurrection of Saab: Stock listing, small car on cards

Swedish automotive brand Saab is gearing up for a makeover. From the days of being a dying brand, its new chief Victor Muller says that he is hopeful to sell 50,000-55,000 units this year. Muller, CEO of Spyker Cars NV - the new owner of Saab, is willing to place high bets on the automotive brand. This comes in stark contrast of 2009 sales of just 38,000 units.

In probably the first detailed media briefing after acquiring Saab, Spyker has charted plans of launching a premium small car in the near future. Although more details regarding the project are still not available, the chief executive is confident of arriving on detailed plans in the months to come. In an interview given to Bloomberg, Muller jocularly said that the plan "will be on my plate in next hundred days". Muller told the news service in an interview that "discussions are already ongoing" with potential partners on this new model.

Also included in the plans for Saab is a stock listing in Stockholm, Sweden. The company had earlier considered London, United Kingdom and Amsterdam, Netherlands for the listing but in Muller's words, "a listing in Amsterdam clearly is no longer logical in any way, shape or form."

The senior executive expressed belief in clocking sales of 17,000 units of 9-5 executive sedan this year. For the next year, Muller appeared even more
confident with total sales expected at 100,000 units, including 40,000 9-5s and
10,000 9-4X sport utility vehicles (SUVs).

Touching the sales of 100,000 units either next year or in next couple of years looks highly improbable; however, the real savior for the company might be the planned small car. Saab has previously shown what it can do with small premium cars with its historic 92 model that was launched in 1949.

These days, the premium B segment is dominated by Alfa MiTo, Audi A1 and BMW Mini and Saab's small car is certainly going to have a tough time competing with these established models. However, the brand has a high recall value among consumers and still has some passionate followers. Time to watch out if Saab manages to pull it off.