There are brands that are hard to forget, and Saab is one of them.
Known and recognized for its different way of looking at cars, Saab has collected a loyal legion of fans for several decades. Despite never having been a large construction company the size of a Volkswagen, Toyota or GM – the group that dictated and led to this sad end… – Saab always managed to innovate and left an indelible mark on the automotive industry. Particularly in terms of safety solutions, such as active headrests, or in terms of performance, with the democratization of turbo engines in its range, the result of vast experience in the aviation sector where the application of turbos dates back to World War II.
Reasons that were more than enough for allegedly BMW to be interested in acquiring the Swedish brand. In addition to the affection that consumers have for the brand, in our opinion, there are other reasons that may have led BMW to consider the purchase of Saab. One of them is the fact that the two brands have a common history: both started out as, in their genesis, aircraft builders. So much so that the BMW symbol is a clear reference to aviation: a propeller. On the other hand, they are two premium brands, which contain different values without being different. In other words, luxury, quality and performance are common denominators in both brands, the way they reach them is different.
In this sense, Saab could become, in the future, the launching pad for “made by BMW” models, but with a special focus on more conservative customers and not so interested in performance but in comfort. But not only! Saab has vast industrial property, patents and know-how that cannot be forgotten. In one sitting, BMW was aiming at a new market segment (as it does with the Mini), diluting production costs, and even increasing its industrial “know-how”.
And why have they only just shown interest? For two reasons. Because having to offer a buy value, the value now will certainly be lower than at other times. On the other hand, the costs with redundancies and termination of contracts have already been made, so the brand no longer has future obligations to encumber it. In other words… BMW will only buy what it really cares about: the name and the “know-how”. Why the rest, the rest BMW has to give and sell...
Text: Guilherme Ferreira da Costa
Source: Saabunited