Saturn

Saturn

Saturn was created by General Motors as a stand-alone company to produce and market small cars for the US market – the company launched in 1983 but it was not until 1985 that the company unveiled a demonstration car.

Saturn is a US motor company created by General Motors and spun-off as a stand-alone operating unit with a labor agreement negotiated with the American Union of Auto Workers. This agreement created a partnership arrangement for employee participation in the profitability of car production and the first Saturn, the Saturn-S, was a huge commercial success after it was launched in 1990.

In 1990, Saturn finally launched a new car on the market and production was centered on the Spring Hill production plant in Tennessee. The Saturn-S was a huge success and the company rapidly expanded into the Canadian market with a reputation for reliability and a “no haggle” approach to pricing – pricing was transparent which appealed to customers. In 1997, Saturn made an unusual leap – it started marketing cars in Japan and by January 1999 the company had produced 2 million units.

The company has developed a reputation for delivering good quality vehicles with a no-nonsense, “No Haggle” pricing policy – the price you see is the price you pay at the showroom. Saturn entered the Canadian market in 1991 and by 1997 was exporting cars to Japan – an unusual development when Japanese imports to the US dominated the headlines. By 1999, the company had completed 2 million units and was operating successfully.

In 2009, General Motors announced the sale of Saturn to the Penske Automotive Group and after terminating the labor agreement with Union of Auto Workers at the Tennessee plant. Penske is now in talks with several other car makers, including Renault Samsung, to produce Saturn models in future.

With the downturn in the economy and increasing pressures placed on car makers, GM ended the labor deal with the UAW, which saw Saturn models manufactured at the plant in Tennessee. In 2009, GM announced the sale of Saturn to Penske Automotive Group. Penske operates dealerships across North America and other locations abroad but does not manufacture cars itself; Penske is now looking for a car maker to partner with for the production of future Saturn models including Renault Samsung in the Far East.