Saab Automobile Launches New Engineering Structure
• Shaping highly efficient and capable engineering organization
• New organization gears up for developing competitive future vehicle program
Trollhättan, Sweden: As it continues to establish itself as a successful independent premium car manufacturer, Saab Automobile today announced a new organizational structure for its engineering department. The new structure will optimize Saab Automobile’s ability to build competitive premium cars for the 21st century and allow the company to realize its ambition of creating one of the most efficient engineering organizations in the automotive industry.
Since becoming an independent company on February 23, 2010, Saab Automobile has worked intensively to revitalize its engineering department which until then was integrated in the General Motors structure. The new engineering organization is now well-equipped to support Saab Automobile’s extensive development program and current product offensive, with vehicle electrification and the successor to the current Saab 9-3 being two major focal points.
Announcing the new structure, Saab Automobile’s Executive Director Product Development Vehicle Mats Fägerhag said: “The car industry has changed immensely in recent years, as flexibility and sharing know-how have become keys to success. Virtual tools such as CAD and computer simulations have changed the way we work and have led to increased efficiencies and class-leading development times for new vehicles, as well as the need for a new mix of skills and competences within Engineering.
“The new engineering organization embodies the new way of working at Saab Automobile, for instance in the new highly advanced vehicle architecture we have developed for future Saab models. This architecture, on which the successor to the current 9-3 will be built, is based on a modular approach with a set of components and systems, as well as a bandwidth flexibility allowing it to serve multiple vehicle needs.”
The fresh approach within Engineering is also reflected in several strategic technology partnerships with parties such as BMW, Boston Power, American Axle Manufacturing and VICURA, while Saab Automobile is also sharing its engineering know-how with third parties.
In order to facilitate all this, Engineering is creating the right balance of skills and competences for the future through retraining, new hirings, internal redeployments, voluntary separation packages, specialist consultants and other ways. Going forward, the department will continue to improve this balance by hiring highly-skilled people and experts in key areas, which will be instrumental in developing and meeting customer demand for highly-competitive premium vehicles.
–
Red J here:
It seems like Saab is slowly throwing away all those GM structures that a small company like Saab doesn’t need, and is getting ready to play the game of the future, which means: No more isolated OEM’s, a OEM can also e a supplier or even a consultant, and sharing is the word of the game.
I think it is a bet against the point of view of those that think that only bigger is better.
GM failed, Toyota failed, Mercedes failed even trying, why should someone else succeed???
Processing your request, Please wait....
