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Can Saab Come Back To Malaysia?


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#21
lowpro

Posted 30 June 2009 - 05:20 PM

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QUOTE (DC18 @ Jun 30 2009, 02:42 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}>
i like vectra too muscular and nice interior, 2.0 if not mistaken.

those suggestions by lowpro is good but is always the implementation part that fail.
even ford service center sucks with blur service advisor and never call customer to inform of warranty or spareparts.

i guess lowpro u are in marketing or product planning


you are right. when i was with porsche and saab, i handled both marketing and product planning. you are also right in saying that the implementation part is most difficult. even with a small company like auto eurokars, it was already difficult to keep customers happy. i can only guess how much more difficult it would be for bigger automotive concerns. sad thing is, too many companies spend too little on real customer service. many are just focussed on selling selling selling with no thought of customer retention etc.

in marketing, it is always cheaper to get a repeat customer than a new customer. but to get a repeat customer, that customer must be treated like a king in the first place. i know companies that only know how to sell by discounts and needless to say, they have lost all goodwill from their customers... and also banks who do not dare to finance their products already. as the saying goes, you can only con them once... then they tell 10 more of their friends. right?

for those companies, the come back will be a long and ardous task as overcoming customer rejection will be very much harder. more funds will have to be spent to turn around customer perception and this could have been avoided if they had a proper business model from the start. question is, are they going to go the extra mile to win back that customer?

i know, i'm digressing a little here but i think my thoughts are pertinent to all car companies.
Let's talk about driving again!

#22
swinee

Posted 30 June 2009 - 08:19 PM

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QUOTE (lowpro @ Jun 30 2009, 02:17 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}>
hey swinee, i thought you were also active in the peugeot thread wink.gif

yeah, the same wit you too..hehe
i was loitering there bcos that is a more realistic target for me to get one..hopefully b4 year end smile_blush.gif
while dun think opel will reach our store yet or in the next 2-3yrs..
possibly one day naza will handle for opel..

my first taste wit saab is when years back they held a roadshow at MV..
showing a coupe and a sedan, i forgot is a 9-3 or 9-5 though..
and they are well known for their turbocharge engine smile_blush.gif
btw, if i'm not mistaken when think of saab is it sth related to aerospace?

#23
lowpro

Posted 01 July 2009 - 09:01 AM

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QUOTE (swinee @ Jun 30 2009, 08:19 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}>
yeah, the same wit you too..hehe
i was loitering there bcos that is a more realistic target for me to get one..hopefully b4 year end smile_blush.gif
while dun think opel will reach our store yet or in the next 2-3yrs..
possibly one day naza will handle for opel..

my first taste wit saab is when years back they held a roadshow at MV..
showing a coupe and a sedan, i forgot is a 9-3 or 9-5 though..
and they are well known for their turbocharge engine smile_blush.gif
btw, if i'm not mistaken when think of saab is it sth related to aerospace?


hehehe, if i'm not mistaken, i probably organised that show in mid valley... and 1 utama... and other locations wink.gif only didn't get to do at klcc cos the cost was ridiculous. saab is normally related to fighter jets thats why their owners affectionally call their cars jets. today, the 2 companies, the plane making one and automotive are split already. they only share the same name and logo. saab's fighter jet today, the gripen looks fantastic. you should google it. saab is also well known for their turbo technology as they were the first to put a turbo in a mass produced family car. my saab knowledge is a little rusty today though wink.gif in the latest high performance saab turbos, they use mitsubishi turbos. for low pressure turbo, they use garret turbos, the company which is now owned by honeywell. strangely enough, i think honeywell makes air conds too... i think i see their air cond stuff in hotel rooms.
Let's talk about driving again!

#24
swinee

Posted 01 July 2009 - 06:08 PM

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bro lowpro,
haha..i got a brochure from 1 of the SA as well at the roadshow..
but if not mistaken the price is quite steep also at that time..tat really give the disadvantages to saab.. smile_blush.gif

btw, honeywell do have aircons management, aerospace sensors, building management integration control..etc..a wide variety..establish comapny smile_thumbup.gif

#25
lowpro

Posted 01 July 2009 - 06:16 PM

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QUOTE (swinee @ Jul 1 2009, 06:08 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}>
bro lowpro,
haha..i got a brochure from 1 of the SA as well at the roadshow..
but if not mistaken the price is quite steep also at that time..tat really give the disadvantages to saab.. smile_blush.gif

btw, honeywell do have aircons management, aerospace sensors, building management integration control..etc..a wide variety..establish comapny smile_thumbup.gif


yeah, crazy prices... if the swedish interior quality was better, it would have been a better bet. it looked good and worked very well as a car though. just the price which was too close to its obvious competitors and as its brand was not that strong, lost out to the competitors as well.
Let's talk about driving again!

#26
jayraptor

Posted 08 July 2009 - 10:45 AM

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QUOTE (lowpro @ Jun 29 2009, 06:55 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}>
DC18,

formerly, yup.

swinee,

now no more saab/open showroom or franchise holder in malaysia. opel left many years ago. their last showroom was in jalan ampang years ago now taken over by nationwide courier i think. saab was in glenmarie with porsche but the showroom is now fully converted to showcase porsche only.

for a while eurokars was handling the servicing for opel too but since they let go of saab, not sure where opel owners go to now. maybe cergazam? i'm not sure about this.


hi lowpro!

U do notice the Jalan Ampang Opel? Went there once during the launch of new Opel Omega.

If Saab wanted to survive local market, they'll need to do like Naza Pug and in return will get sales in average volume. At least better than tiny volume. Can't compare with Japanese makes. Selling price must be just like Pug. Once over the affordable category, it won't be able to stay for long.


#27
lowpro

Posted 08 July 2009 - 12:37 PM

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QUOTE (jayraptor @ Jul 8 2009, 10:45 AM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}>
hi lowpro!

U do notice the Jalan Ampang Opel? Went there once during the launch of new Opel Omega.

If Saab wanted to survive local market, they'll need to do like Naza Pug and in return will get sales in average volume. At least better than tiny volume. Can't compare with Japanese makes. Selling price must be just like Pug. Once over the affordable category, it won't be able to stay for long.


yeah, i'm that old!! biggrin.gif yeah, i totally agree with you. saab needs to be priced below the radar to make an impact. to enter the malaysian market, they need to operate like how nasim is doing for peugeot but their main competitors are the premium european brands. sadly though, this won't happen for the near future as saab wants to concentrate in re-gaining their sales footing in their traditionally strong markets first like the u.s. and europe where their sales are hit hard.

only when things are stabilised over there will they consider a move back here. very curious about the financing that koenigsegg will bring to saab. how much? when do they officially declare their take over? what's their game plan for the brand? how are they going to achieve synergies?

there is an interesting blog site though; saabunited.com. there's lot's of insight there and the writer seems to have a lot of inside info.

by the way jay, thanks for writing in. keeps saab's memory alive... at least for now wink.gif
Let's talk about driving again!

#28
jayraptor

Posted 09 July 2009 - 05:33 PM

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QUOTE (lowpro @ Jul 8 2009, 12:37 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}>
yeah, i'm that old!! biggrin.gif yeah, i totally agree with you. saab needs to be priced below the radar to make an impact. to enter the malaysian market, they need to operate like how nasim is doing for peugeot but their main competitors are the premium european brands. sadly though, this won't happen for the near future as saab wants to concentrate in re-gaining their sales footing in their traditionally strong markets first like the u.s. and europe where their sales are hit hard.

only when things are stabilised over there will they consider a move back here. very curious about the financing that koenigsegg will bring to saab. how much? when do they officially declare their take over? what's their game plan for the brand? how are they going to achieve synergies?

there is an interesting blog site though; saabunited.com. there's lot's of insight there and the writer seems to have a lot of inside info.

by the way jay, thanks for writing in. keeps saab's memory alive... at least for now wink.gif



Ur welcome lowpro. That's the best thing carmakers do. Try to regain sales at countries with better buying power, fix its image before coming to countries with limited choices. Volkswagen, Audi & BMW did the same back then before they become what they are today. Koenigsegg team do have the capability to make SAAB cars more interesting especially the owner of that company is truely engineer and rich tycoon. He'll do better.

#29
lowpro

Posted 10 July 2009 - 03:55 PM

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i wonder who would be the best company to handle saab if it came back. but saab MUST consider some form of SKD to bring prices down lah. the next franchise holder should be able to handle this or it may suffer the same fate. the new ppl must also believe in a strong marketing plan... and most importantly, have the funds to plough on when sales are low as brands like saab, renault, ford, citroen or peugeot (those attempting a come back) cannot think of making money in the first or second year of operations. sadly some ppl in management only think of making money rather than building the brand. this way, there's bound to be problems... can't understand simple business concepts and want to run companies!! for first few years, money is spent on building up customer service, aftersales and lots on advertising to get the brand recognised. not doing silly offers to sell the cars.
Let's talk about driving again!

#30
swinee

Posted 11 July 2009 - 12:13 PM

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when mentioned about the best company to bring back the brand..
i certainly dun think Nasim is the best dealing wit it, yes the Pugs are gaining some share on the market..
they are capable to bring the price down, but thier business tactics could be observed..is mostly like filling the gaps here n there in short term..may be they should tried to build on it wit a more comprehensive long term plan..
as many still view Nasim as the parallel importer to make $$
the same things goes to Naza, as currently rumours mentioned that Kia wanna goes separate ways with Naza..again due to their business tactics.. smile_blackeye.gif

i think it is quite hard for saab/opel coming back to breach the double B's..
even the Audis, Volvo facing to strangehold thier respective market..
u could observe from this how many C,E-class, Bmw 3,5 on the road..
well..compare to the astonishing Audi A4,A6, VolvoS80..their pricing is priced lower than the double B and normally offer a much sophiticated or higher package than the rivals, but still the sale figure cant beat them.. smile_blackeye.gif