Ssangyong announces a raft of offers for September, to try and tempt to the buyers.

Following on from its best sales month ever - SsangYong sold more cars in September this year than in the whole of 2013 - the brand has announced that a number of special offers on its Tivoli, Korando and Rexton models will continue throughout October.

Half price specification upgrades on Tivoli

The newly introduced Tivoli compact SUV is already proving extremely popular with customers looking for a modern, safe, well-built and comprehensively equipped car, and with a price and warranty no one else can match.

To further extend the appeal, SsangYong is offering a ‘half price specification upgrade’ on its 1.6 litre petrol cars as follows:

• Half price upgrade from an SE to an EX model - saving £825
• Half price upgrade from an EX to an ELX - saving £700

What you get:

Tivoli SE

The Tivoli SE starts from just £12,950, and is available with a 1.6 litre Euro 6 petrol with manual transmission.  Finished in a smart grey cloth trim, it includes 16” alloy wheels, cruise control, air conditioning, a stop/go system, Smart steering (normal, comfort and sport modes), an RDS/Bluetooth radio and seven airbags.

Tivoli EX

Upgrading to the EX adds the option of automatic transmission, grey or beige leather upholstery, 18” Spiral alloy wheels, dual zone climate control, 7” touch screen smart audio system with rear view camera, heated front seats, front fog lights and a luggage load cover.

Tivoli ELX

The top of the range ELX is available with manual and automatic transmission, and features Diamond cut alloy wheels, a smart instrument cluster, smart keyless starting, front & rear parking sensors, privacy glass, rear spoiler, automatic headlamps, rain sensing wipers, full TomTom navigation system with 7” touch screen, and a rear view camera.

Tivoli petrol model pricing:

SE - manual: EX - manual: EX - automatic: ELX - manual:   ELX - automatic:

£12,950 £14,600 £15,600 £16,000 £17,000

Three years’ free servicing offers

Customers purchasing any petrol Tivoli or 2-litre Korando on PCP during October, will also benefit from an offer to give them free servicing for three years.

Free servicing is also on offer for any Rexton 4x4 - including the CSX Commercial, purchased up until the end of the month for even great value and customer reassurance.  Prices start from just £18,495 ex VAT for the Rexton CSX Commercial, and £21,995 for the five seat Rexton SX.

5 year limitless mileage warranty

All models in the SsangYong range are covered by a best-in-class 5 year limitless mileage warranty.  Designed to be totally transparent and give customers complete peace of mind, ‘limitless’ means just that: not a maximum mileage condition that some brands impose in their small print.  

All the major mechanical components are covered including wheel bearings, suspension joints and bushes, steering joints, shock absorbers and even the audio system.  Wearable components such as clutch discs and brake friction materials which could have their life reduced by poor driving are covered for one year or 12,000 miles, and the battery and paintwork for three years.

Made in Korea

SsangYong cars are manufactured in South Korea by SsangYong Motor, which is 73 per cent owned by the Indian engineering conglomerate Mahindra & Mahindra, and imported into the UK by SsangYong Motor UK.  Established in 1954 it is Korea's oldest vehicle manufacturer and only 4x4 and SUV specialist producer.  There are currently some 60 SsangYong dealers covering England, Northern Ireland, Scotland and Wales, with new locations being added to the network all the time.

Notes

• 3 years free servicing is available on any SsangYong Korando 2-litre and Tivoli (petrol) purchased with PCP, and any Rexton, and allows for one service per year and an annual mileage of up to 12,500 miles.
• PCPs are subject to status and open to applicants age 18 and over.  Guarantee/indemnity may be required.
• Available from GMAC Finance UK Plc.
• All offers end 31 October 2015, are available from participating SsangYong dealers, and subject to stock availability.  Terms & Conditions apply.

Mahindra & Mahindra, India's largest SUV maker, is in the final stages to buy Pininfarina.

Mahindra & Mahindra, India's largest maker of SUVs, is in the final stages of negotiations to buy Italian design and engineering firm Pininfarina, according to people familiar with the matter.

Mahindra may reach an agreement to purchase the company that has designed some of the most iconic Ferrari sports cars as early as next week, said the people, who asked not to be identified because the discussions are private.

Representatives for Mahindra and Pininfarina declined to comment.

While other potential bidders have expressed interest in buying the Turin-based creator of the Ferrari California T roadster, Mahindra is favored by the Pininfarina family and its creditor banks because the Indian company is seen as providing stability through its position in the auto industry, the people said.

Negotiations are continuing and could still fall apart, the people said.

Pininfarina was founded in 1930 and has designed automotive classics such as the Ferrari 250 GT and Alfa Romeo Giulietta Spider from the 1950s.

The company has been unprofitable for 10 of the past 11 years while struggling with debt and a floundering division that built cars for other manufacturers, a business it shut three years ago.

Pininfarina would be the latest Italian company to be purchased by a foreign buyer as the country struggles to emerge from a cycle of recessions.

Owner's review

Pininfarina's controlling shareholder, Pincar Srl, confirmed Mumbai-based Mahindra's interest on March 26. The Pininfarina family's investment vehicle said it has been reviewing several options for the design firm jointly with its financial institutions.

Pincar, which owns about 76 percent of Pininfarina's stock, ceded control of the stake to banks as a guarantee for debt restructuring in 2012. Those creditors also need to approve any sale.

Pininfarina shares have gained about 35 percent since Bloomberg reported on March 25 the talks with Mahindra. The stock was trading Wednesday at 5.73 euros, valuing the company at 168 million euros ($179 million).

The designer already cooperates with Mahindra on SUV development and worked with it on the Halo electric sports car concept presented at the Delhi auto show last year.

Pininfarina could help Mahindra add flair to the Indian manufacturer's namesake brand and its South Korean car making unit SsangYong, which also specializes in SUVs.

Other models that Pininfarina has designed include the Rolls-Royce Camargue, Cadillac Allante and Maserati Quattroporte.

The company has branched out to non-automotive design projects, including residential apartment towers, vending machines and toothbrushes.

Mahindra, which bought controlling stakes in SsangYong in 2011 and PSA/Peugeot-Citroen's scooter unit earlier this year, had 82.6 billion rupees ($1.3 billion) in cash and short-term investments at the end of its fiscal year on March 31, 2014, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. The manufacturer is scheduled to release fiscal 2015 earnings figures in May.

USA - SAAB continues to as if nothing has changed at this US dealership.

Nearly all Saab dealers reached a dead end after the Swedish brand's bankruptcy in 2011. But not Park Ave Saab in Maywood, N.J.

The dealership, about 10 miles from Manhattan, bought the customer lists of several defunct Saab dealerships in the New York City area.

Then it moved into a closed Suzuki store and started courting Saab drivers in New York, New Jersey and Pennsylvania. With ads, service coupons and emails, it offers readily available parts, service and a selection of low-mileage used Saabs.

Park Ave's website is a portal for all things Saab, such as the latest news and rumors from Sweden, updates on parts and alerts when a used Saab is for sale.

The store's ultimate goal, explained General Manager Jeremy Morrissey, is to keep Saab customers happy. And when they are ready to quit their quirky Swedish cars, ease them into one of the company's other brands. The Park Avenue Auto Group handles Acura, BMW and Lotus at other stores nearby.

Die-hard loyalists

There are more than 10,000 Saab owners in the New York, New Jersey and Pennsylvania area, according to the customer lists, giving Park Ave a solid customer base.

The store's used-car and parts-and-service business has been strong, said Morrissey. In 2014, the store has:

• Averaged monthly sales of between 30 and 50 mostly high-end used cars.

• Billed between 600 and 700 hours per month in the service department. Park Ave employs two full-time technicians and a service writer.

• Boosted its parts business by targeting Saab owners and independent repair shops.

The store is posting a monthly operating profit of between $20,000 and $50,000 after all the bills, rent and wages are paid, said Morrissey, who has sold Saabs since the late 1980s.

"The Saab customer is very interesting," Morrissey said. "They are very emotional about Saab, and it amazes me the loyalty customers have to that brand. They'd rather pay top dollar for a used 2011 than buy a new 2014 Volvo."

So far, few die-hard Saab fans have quit the brand at his store. But that will change as the cars age and wear out, said Morrissey. He said customers often trade high-mileage Saabs from the 1980s and 1990s for newer models, such as the 9-5 from 2008-11.

About 450,000 Saabs are still in daily use in the United States, according to an estimate by Saab Automobile Parts North America, the Swedish-government owned business unit that distributes original equipment Saab service parts to 200 factory-authorized service centers in the United States.

"When [Saab] customers have had issues with their cars and are at the end of their ropes, they know this is the best place to trade their car because of our affinity to the brand," said Morrissey. "We give them top dollar for their car. We treat them and the car as if the brand is still in the United States."

Clock is ticking

Morrissey said he can sell all the Saabs he can get that were built in 2008 and later. He scours the Internet daily, goes to auctions and buys late-model Saabs from other dealers. He buys Saabs from all over the country and ships them to New Jersey. He also ships used Saabs to other states and to Europe.

Morrissey said the plan to service Saab customers is working well. But he realizes that the clock is ticking. Eventually, even the last Saabs built in 2011 will become too old to recondition and sell at a sufficient profit, Morrissey said.

"I expect the business to decline. Everything has a time limit," said Morrissey. "I think there will be a time period when we can ride the wave, maybe another two years at the best. Then you have to figure something else out."

Richard Truett

REPORT HERE

GREAT NEWS - SAAB is BACK, new Owner agrees to buy majority stake and subsidise current finances.

India's Mahindra & Mahindra has agreed to buy a majority stake in National Electric Vehicle Sweden (NEVS), the investment group that bought the assets of Saab Automobile two years ago, a report said.

NEVS' administrator, Lars Eric Gustafsson, said today in a statement that an Asian carmaker has agreed to purchase a majority stake in NEVS. Neither Gustafsson nor NEVS identified the company.

The website SaabsUnited said NEVS and Mahindra have signed an agreement for Mahindra to step in as majority owner of NEVS. The agreement is being kept secret until it is finalized the website said.

Gustafsson's statement said the Asian carmaker agreed on Nov. 30 to the deal and to finance the company’s operating costs until the agreement is complete early next year.

Gustafsson also said that NEVS is in talks with another Asian manufacturer on a joint venture to develop new vehicles.

NEVS, a Chinese-Japanese investment group led by renewable energy power-plant builder National Modern Energy Holdings, sought protection from its creditors in August after struggling to deliver on a target to produce 120,000 cars a year by 2016. That would have come close to the Saab brand’s 2006 peak annual ouput of 133,000 vehicles.

The potential majority shareholder has offered to provide bridge financing of 5 million euros ($6.2 million) a month to cover operating costs until the agreement is complete, NEVS said. Pending due diligence, the company said the deal should be finished by February.

NEVS was granted permission by a Swedish court on Aug. 29 to carry out a reorganization of the company. It applied today to Vaenersborg District Court to extend the reconstruction period by three months.

NEVS said it had trouble paying its creditors after its shareholder, Qingbo Investment Co., didn’t fulfill a promised investment of 1.15 billion kronor ($155 million).

Saab was previously owned by General Motors Co., which acquired full control in 2000, before selling it in 2010 to Dutch supercar maker Spyker NV, which failed to revive the brand. The auto business split from Saab AB’s aerospace operations in 1990.

Gustafsson's statement said the majority owner will negotiate with Saab AB to use the Saab brand name and badge. Saab AB withdrew permission after NEVS applied for creditor protection. NEVS expects to be able to renegotiate the Saab brand agreement following a solution to its funding troubles.

Swedish newspaper Svenska Dagbladet reported on Aug. 5 that NEVS was in talks with Mahindra & Mahindra and China’s Dongfeng Motor on funding, citing unidentified people with knowledge of the talks.