GM: Saturn Sales To Amost Double

Detroit, December 4, 2002; Joe Miller writing for Bloomberg News reports that General Motors Corp.'s unprofitable Saturn division will increase annual sales to more than 500,000 cars and trucks by 2005 from about 285,000 this year by adding models and dealerships.

The world's largest automaker will give Saturn a new midsize car in 2005 and may introduce a convertible and a larger vehicle that can seat six or more people, said Jill Lajdziak, the division's vice president of sales and marketing.

"We are in the midst of developing a lineup of innovative, smart vehicles that will propel our growth," she said in a prepared speech for a meeting of the Automotive Press Association in Detroit.

General Motors revamped Saturn's product line this year in an effort to revive the 12-year-old brand, introducing the new Ion small car and Vue sport-utility and a modified L-Series midsize car to compete with Japanese rivals. Saturn had a loss of more than $3,000 on every vehicle sold in 2000.

Saturn also plans to add as many as 270 U.S. dealerships during the next 10 years, Lajdziak said. Saturn currently has 433 dealerships nationwide, she said.

Lajdziak said Saturn increased sales about 10 percent in 2002 and expects about 10 percent growth in 2003 to more than 310,000 vehicles. The brand's best year was 1993 when it sold 286,000 models.