Saab's strong market recovery is continuing with sales increases raising its share of the premium car segment, as well as the total UK market.

March sales totalled 1,766 units, a 52 per cent increase against the same month last year, as the Swedish premium carmaker posted first quarter sales of 2,378 units, 73.5 per cent ahead of Q1, 2010. Saab's share of the premium segment is now almost 60 per cent higher than a year ago.

The strong sales performance in quarter one is in response to the enhanced MY11 9-3 range which offers very competitive CO2 emissions of just 119g/km for the 1.9-litre manual twin turbo diesel lineup, class leading efficiency in terms of CO2 per unit of horsepower for the 180 hp variant, and strong retail and business offers. The new 9-5 Saloon continues to gain traction in the marketplace particularly in the corporate business segment.

The accelerating sales pace this year confirms the brand's turnaround, which began in 2010 with volume increases during each of the last nine months compared to the previous year.

Saab Great Britain now looks forward to continuing Saab's new product offensive with the launch of the much-awaited 9-5 SportWagon later this year, to be followed by the arrival of the mid-size 9-4X crossover.

"As Saab Automobile enters its second year of independence, confidence in the brand is returning and we look forward to building on the strong sales momentum across our dealer network," says Saab Great Britain managing director Charles Toosey.

"As well as the enhanced 9-3 range we have just introduced, our product line-up will be broadened significantly with the launch of the 9-5 SportWagon and 9-4X later this year. We're confident our sales performance will go from strength to strength."

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