Mauritius is a nation of islands in the southern hemisphere. The main island is about 1000 mi. (1600 km) east of Africa. There are over 1 million inhabitants. The country was governed by the French in the 1700's but captured by the British in the 1800's, eventually becoming independent in 1968.
Port Louis, capital of Mauritius
In 2001, the Mauritius based insurance company, British American Insurance (now British American Investment Co. (Mtius) Ltd.), started a wholly owned subsidiary, International Dealership Company, to import Saab cars to Mauritius. The company continued to import Saabs until the uncertainly surrounding General Motors ownership of Saab and did not restart Saab importation after the 2010 acquisition of Saab Automobile AB by Spyker.
When the International Dealership Company was importing Saabs, the source was rather unusual. Rather than sourcing the cars from Sweden, cars were imported via South Africa and Singapore, both right hand drive countries. SaabWorld plans a future report on Mauritius and this interesting Singapore connection.
Saab Automobile France has announced that it currently has 50 dealers but plans to expand to an additional 9 dealers. Buried within the press release is news that one of the new dealers is not in France but in Mauritius!
An English translation of the key paragraph is as follows:
The network of Saab Automobile France currently is the 50 dealerships owned by 45 dealers. The objective at the end of 2011 is to finalize contracts with 9 other dealers in Bordeaux, Nantes, Grenoble, Montpellier, Compiègne, Annecy, La Roche sur Yon and overseas in Guadeloupe and Mauritius. Negotiations are underway for additional dealerships to be located in Lyon, St. Germain en Laye, Versailles, Cergy Pontoise, Dijon, and Amiens. The sales goals for Saab in France for 2011 is 1,360 cars. This will be supplemented by additional sales by the planned new dealers.
The French press release also describes their new team and new headquarters in France. Expansion into Guadeloupe, an island in the Carribean, would mark an expansion of Saab presence into the West Indies.
Saab France headquarters
Below is the original French language Saab press release (with bolded added)
Saab Automobile France – un an déjà...aussi
Un an de travail, aussi, pour Saab en France. Devenir indépendant signifie tout reprendre à zéro. Depuis la restructuration de la société et du réseau jusqu’au processus d’immatriculation des voitures, Saab Automobile France étant désormais considéré comme un constructeur à part entière, en passant par la mise en place des systèmes de commandes, de facturation et d’après-vente/garantie des véhicules.
Pour ce faire, Philippe Van Der Meulen, Directeur Général de Saab Automobile France – succursale de Saab Automobile AB – a construit une équipe serrée de neuf personnes dédiée totalement au soutien du réseau, toutes les fonctions administratives ou comptables étant centralisées en Suède auprès de fonctions supports. Cette équipe est localisée dans le nouveau siège social à Rueil Malmaison.
Le réseau de Saab Automobile France comprend actuellement 50 points de vente détenus par 45 investisseurs. L’objectif d’ici à la fin de cette année étant de finaliser les contrats avec 9 autres concessionnaires (Bordeaux, Nantes, Grenoble, Montpellier, Compiègne, Annecy, La Roche sur Yon ainsi qu’en Outre Mer, en Guadeloupe et sur l’ile Maurice). Des contacts sont en cours pour l’ouverture de concessions sur Lyon, St Germain en Laye, Versailles, Cergy Pontoise, Dijon, Amiens.
L’objectif en terme de volume de Saab en France pour 2011 est de 1360. A cela s’ajoutera les volumes complémentaires apportés par l’ouverture des nouvelles concessions
Contact:
Saab Automobile France
45, avenue Paul Doumer
92500 – Rueil Malmaison
+33.(0)1.55.94.93.95
Original French source: Saab France Saab Media Online France : French
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