Let’s assume that Chinese wage costs are one fifth of Swedish ones. (I wonder if the difference may not be even greater.) And let’s assume that the average salary in the Trollhättan plant, including payroll taxes, is SEK 40 000, and that the number of employees is 3 500. Reducing the wages to one fifth would then save 112 MSEK (appx $17.5M) every month! If you don’t lose anything in the bargain except the one-time costs for moving the tools to China and the added shipping costs for the cars to Europe, then there is just no way any owner or CEO can say no to that.

However, I’m not convinced of a manufacturing plan that assumes it’s OK to sell cars that are perceived to be sub-standard in any market.  Saab’s mission will be to ensure that our vehicles are premium quality regardless of where they’re built.  The Chinese market is not one that will accept substandard cars in the sector of the market we’ll be moving in.  

I understand where your apprehension is coming from.  It’s quite common and it’s a perception that all manufacturers have to deal with.  It’s also a challenge that I think we’ll find car manufacturers need to tackle by building and proving their product to be a quality product.  There’s no questioning the quality of manufacture when it comes to the iPhone, for example.  Car builders will need to develop the same acceptance with their products, too.