Old 9-5 bows out as Saab rationalises range

Range by half SAAB Australia has reduced its model range, winding up the ageing 9-5 ahead of the all-new model next year and cutting no fewer than 27 variants from the remaining 9-3 range as it dispenses with many petrol-only low-end models in favour of its ‘flex-fuel’ E85 ethanol-capable BioPower powertrains.

The price-list shake-out, from an unwieldy 62 variants to a more manageable 34, comes as Saab parent General Motors gets set to sell the Swedish brand to Scandinavian super-sportscar maker Koenigsegg Automotive AB – a move that will force a new distribution arrangement for Australia.

Saab is handled here by Holden-based GM Premium Brands, which was established to distribute GM-owned niche marques that also included Hummer and, potentially, luxury American brand Cadillac.

That all came unstuck in the global financial crisis, with GM off-loading Hummer to Chinese company Sichuan Tengzhong Heavy Industrial Machinery Co, and Holden killing plans to import Cadillac when the world car market got the wobbles last year.

The model rationalisation by Saab Australia comes as no surprise, with Saab sales down 33 per cent this year to just 647 vehicles year to date – a monthly average of about 70, according to official VFACTS data. Of those, only 50 sales were from the venerable 9-5 range, which has been around since 1997.
The cheapest Saab is now the 147kW 2.0-litre turbo 9-3 Linear BioPower Sport Sedan with six-speed manual transmission, at $44,400 plus statutory and delivery costs.

Likewise, the most affordable 9-3 Sportcombi wagon and Convertible are the Linear models powered by this BioPower 2.0-litre engine, at $46,900 and $66,500 respectively.

At the top end, the demise of the limited-edition 9-3 Turbo X XWD – which topped $93,000 in both sedan and wagon guises – means the new performance flagship of the range is now the 206kW V6 turbo 9-3 Aero XWD, at $79,400 for the six-speed manual sedan ($84,400 for six-speed auto) and $81,990 for the similar-spec manual Sportcombi ($84,400 for auto).

While they were at it, Saab has taken the opportunity to hike prices on several top-end TiD Aero diesel models, ranging from a $1266 rise for the TiD Aero Sport Sedan manual (to $62,666), to a substantial $5346 boost – 6.6 per cent – for the Convertible TiD Aero (now $86,146).

No date has yet been announced for the arrival of the new 9-5, although most observers expect it to appear in 2010 to resume its flagship status.

Source: http://goauto.com.au/mellor/mellor.nsf/story2/013F15471425EFE6CA25765E00262F9D