* 9-4X in 2009, in samenwerking met Cadillac
* Verkoopdoel: in 2011 200.000 auto's verkopen
Automotive NewsAutomotive News Europe schreef:MADRID, Spain -- Saab may extend its product range by adding a two-seat sports car and small SUV.
The sports car is being considered as part of Swedish automaker's "diversification strategy to offer wider range of models," said Svante Kinell, European product marketing business manager for the 9-3 and 9-5.
Saab will show a front-wheel-drive, 250-hp V-6 concept for the two-seater at the Geneva auto show in March.
*Update: hier het volledige verhaal
AutoWeek.comAutoweek.com schreef:'Interesting concept'
"We will show an interesting concept in Geneva that will have the DNA of our Sonett sports car that we sold in the mid-'60s," Kinell told Automotive News Europe at the launch of the face-lifted 9-5 in Spain.
A decision to build the car hinges on public reaction when the concept vehicle is shown at auto shows in the United States next year.
Kinell also confirmed that Saab is developing a small SUV similar in size to the BMW X3. The SUV will be called the 9-4X and will be developed on a vehicle architecture shared with a small Cadillac SUV.
"It will be a worldwide car, but we have to have the right engines for it" such as a diesel, Kinell said.
The timetable for the 9-4X was not disclosed, but industry sources expect sales to begin in 2009.
The 9-4X project follows the cancellation of plans for a Saab version of the Subaru B9 Tribeca. That project was killed after Saab parent General Motors last month sold its 20 percent stake in Fuji Heavy Industries Ltd., parent company of Subaru.
Seeking 50% sales boost
Saab wants to boost worldwide sales nearly 50 percent by 2011.
"We want to reach a level of 200,000 unit sales per year within the next six years," Kinell said.
Saab's global sales are expected to reach 135,000 vehicles this year, an increase of about 7,500 vehicles, he said.
Worldwide, Saab sold 96,633 vehicles through September, a 1.4 percent boost over the year-ago period. U.S. sales through October totaled 33,486, up 3.7 percent from the previous year.
