28
Dec 2011
2011: Car industry obituaries
As the festive season rolls into full swing we look at those brands, manufacturers and models that unfortunately won’t be bringing in the New Year.
While it’s a sad thought, we can rest safe in the knowledge that they’ll be looking down on us from the scrapheap in the sky – or from their home market where they’ve retreated with their tail between their legs.
Saab
Saab has been part of one of the most protracted bankruptcy processes in recent memory. Rather than bite the bullet months back and admit defeat, Saab has soldiered on in search of a miracle. Sadly for staff and fans it wasn't to be.
The painful-to-watch demise of the once unique Swedish brand was dragged out due to the belief of Swan (Swedish Automobile) that Chinese investment would materialise, but that was never likely to surface given GM’s mutual interest.
Normally obituaries would praise the fighting spirit of refusing to give in but by holding out in the face of what seemed like inevitable failure its eventual demise came less than one week before Christmas – brutal for employees.
Spyker
2011 has been a pretty crap year for anyone involved with the manufacturer formerly known as Spyker, once winning praise from us as making one of the supercars of the decade with the Laviolette C8.
As well as overseeing the liquidation of once-great Saab, Swan was forced to sell its supercar division to drum up funds for the ailing volume marque.
It raised just €32m – not enough for Saab’s survival - and successful buyer, UK-based CPP coach builder, has taken over Spyker's sportscar design and production arm.
Maybach
Daimler called time on Maybach, its ultra luxurious manufacturer in 2011, deeming the niche brand of cars as unprofitable and a drain on funds.
According to the MotorTorque expert, it was not surprising that the German conglomerate decided to call a halt to Maybach and its 57 and 62 luxury saloons.
Over the last nine years, Daimler has reportedly haemorrhaged around €1bn on keeping the marque going and with the exception of oligarchs and celebrities, it seems few other people are willing to fork out on the luxurious barges – selling 200 units a year on average.
As our expert points out, Maybach’s existence didn’t make sense because it suffered from a lack of history - having been off the market for more than 60 years - that the likes of Rolls-Royce, Bentley and even Mercedes-Benz have.
That’s why it makes sense for Daimler to focus on a plush Mercedes that rivals Rolls-Royce and Bentley rather than a brand that needed building from the ground up.
Maybach was simply surplus to requirements in the end. And, lest we forget, bloody ugly.
Daihatsu
Although its still going strong in domestic markets, the Japanese mini manufacturer announced that it would pull out of all European markets by 2013 and it has already retreated from the unforgiving UK marketplace.
Where Saab ploughed on regardless of its future, Daihatsu took the logical, damage-limitation option of pulling out of the UK because of escalating exchange rates that made it increasingly difficult for the company to recoup anything from selling cars in the UK.
Given the fact that Daihatsu managed just 170 sales in 2010, it’s unsurprising that the Toyota-off-shoot has decided to make the long journey back to Asia where it can operate on a more even keel.
That saddens us because Daihatsu was a singular manufacturer – with oddball models like the Materia and the cute Copen – among an abundance of staid hatchbacks and saloons on UK roads.
Half of Renault's line-up
Don’t worry, the French giant isn’t dead but it is decimating its model line-up and the number of dealers it has in the UK.
Surplus to requirements from 2012 will be the complete Laguna line-up, the Espace and Grand Espace, the Modus and the Grand Modus, the Wind and the Kangoo passenger car.
It’s part of a streamlining of operations for the French manufacturer as it prepares to launch budget models under the Dacia name at the end of 2012. That means getting rid of models that are unprofitable as it looks to improve sales in the UK.
Like Saab, the timing of Renault’s announcement – just before Xmas - is terrible but again the decision makes sense with Renault losing sales in the UK and Europe as a whole.
Taking action now makes sense for Renault, which is attempting, with no little success, to pitch itself as the leading electric car-maker and has a raft of clever diesel and petrol technology at hand. With innovative models like the Twizy on sale in 2012, much of Renault's line-up was looking increasingly tired and out-of-kilter with a brand associated with exciting tech and models.
Cutting underwhelming models like the Laguna and Modus ranges - and oddballs like the Wind - makes sense and should stand the French manufacturer in good stead going forward. It's a reminder that manufacturers only survive by adaptation and innovation. Canning the Grand Modus - a car that sounds like an end-of-level boss - and bringing on the radical Twizy can only be a positive.