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Sweden's auto industry is under threat. The country's carmakers - Volvo and Saab - are losing money, and a strong currency and high wages are eroding Sweden's competitiveness.
Volvo and Saab might be able to overcome these problems if they sold more cars, but sales at both automakers are weak.
The industry is fighting back with a range of new initiatives. The car companies are struggling to broaden their lineups without sacrificing their core values.
The good news for Volvo, Saab and the entire Swedish auto industry is that one of Sweden's strengths is expertise in a key growth area: green technologies.
"Global market demand will shift from performance-driven products to more environmentally friendly cars. Then the Swedes have the tools to take the lead," says Bertil Molden, CEO of the automotive association BIL Sweden.
Another strength of the Swedish auto industry is its safety expertise. But for the country's automakers and suppliers to keep growing, experts say, its leading car companies will have to offer more than just top safety and environmental features.
"These values are still strong indeed, but that is not enough to position them as premium, only as idiosyncratic alternatives to the Germans," says Neil King, a senior analyst at Global Insight.
Volvo Car Corp.'s head of communications, Olle Axelsson, agrees that changes need to be made. "We are a caring company and remain conscious of all aspects of society, in...