Saab looks to new 'Sports Sedan'

1 July 2002: Saab hopes to reach annual sales of 200,000 with the aid of its new 9-3 model range, due to be launched later this year.

The GM-owned Swedish company hopes that its new 'Sports Sedan' will allow it to compete more aggressively with the BMW 3-Series. The next 9-3 is built on the same 'Epsilon' platform as the latest Opel Vectra, and will debut publicly at the Paris Motor Show.

In a radical change of ethos, the new Saab will not have a hatchback version. An estate will come later, and there are plans for a 4WD 'crossover' version.

Saab, which hasn't made a profit for 10 years, sold 126,000 units last year. Productivity has increased by 30 percent, though, and the number of suppliers has been cut from over 400 to around 200.

June 2002