Resolving the Design Challenge for National Electric Vehicle Sweden A comparative study on how insiders and outsiders perceive the brand style of Saab Lo, Kuan-Lun | International Design Business Management | MA Thesis Aalto University School of Arts, Design and Architecture Department of Design International Design Business Management Supervisor: Dr. Oscar Person ©
[email protected] Printed at Aalto University | Helsinki, Finland 2013 Acknowledgement i Before starting my MA Thesis, I had little knowledge of Saab. In this case, I would like to give my special thanks to Eero Miettinen, from whom I was inspired to conduct this project which turned out to be a very interesting one. My greatest thankfulness goes to my academic supervisor: Oscar Person who always gave proper suggestions whenever I felt frustrated, yet highly respected my own thought. I would also like to express my gratitude to all of the participants who shared their thought and experience about Saab. It would have been impossible to draw out the conclusion without their help. Summary ii In the history of automotive design, there are few brands that have successfully managed their design legacy over time. Most brands have either lost the track of their original character, or failed on meeting consumers’ expectations. Saab is one of the cases. Starting from 1948, Saab had steadily developed a niche position in the market, reaching its summit in the 1980’s. However, its brand reputation and market share started to decline after merging with the General Motors in 1989. After nearly 20 years of mismanagement by GM, Saab had felt on meeting consumers’ expectation; and lost track of both its unique brand identity and design legacy.