Saturn will now face the same fate as other brands such as Oldsmobile and Plymouth with the withdrawal of Roger Penske’s offer to buy the ailing brand from General Motors.
Penske had been the only serious buyer for the Saturn brand when GM decided to get rid of the brand as it faced serious sales declines. Penske’s Penske Automotive Group had one challenge – no means to produce additional cars for Saturn. As a result, Elyria Chevrolet said Penske sought a partnership with other automakers to supply Saturn with new cars.
Without Penske to take over the brand, Saturn will meet its demise and so too will its retailers according to Used Cars Washington DC. Already, GM has eliminated numerous dealers amid the decline in new car demand. Despite relatively fresh offerings, Saturn continued to struggle, as have all GM brands admits Beachwood Used Cars. Following bankruptcy restructuring, GM has decided to focus on its core brands of Chevrolet, Buick, Cadillac, and GMC, and has sought to sell or dissolve all other brands.
Penske Automotive Group owns 310 dealer franchises. It was mainly banking on French automaker Renault to supply automobiles for the brand. If the deal was successful, it would save roughly 350 Saturn dealerships and 13,000 jobs.
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