Saturn was a subsidiary brand of General Motors (GM) for many years, and the goal behind establishing Saturn was to provide an innovative and competitive line of vehicles. On July 30, 1990, Saturn built its first vehicle, the Tennessee. 

 

 

Saturn was established under the banner of GM. Their working procedures and goals were completely different. But it was very eager to present something useful and thus came out with the Saturn GM EV1. Also, their S-series remained the most popular option in the market, like the Vue SUV, the L-series, etc., but they never made the expected sale. 

 

These are the reasons why Saturn couldn’t survive, but their EV1 proved that Saturn can provide something new to the world. Now that EVs are becoming popular worldwide, the question is: why doesn’t GM resurrect Saturn as a purely EV company? 

 

Why should GM think about Saturn?  

 

Well, you may be surprised to hear people want GM to resurrect Saturn again. They fell in love with those plastic bodies and everything new. But it confuses us: why do they have to resurrect a dead brand when they can make any other subbrand specifically for EV vehicles?

 

Reasons Behind Resurrecting for EVs

 

Nostalgia and customer support: GM always wanted to create something compact and bring something fuel-efficient with competitive quality. Also, they wanted to give buyers a nice experience, like Honda and Toyota do. So there can be doubts about if they could provide them all, but, indeed, Saturn tried very differently from traditional GM. GM can bring Saturn back and advertise it as the first commercial EV car manufacturer. The perfect time for resurrecting 

Clean State: Though other vehicles Saturn made didn’t get much appreciation because, at that time, almost every family in California and Florida had GM, they would want to go another sub-brand of GM. Saturn’s SUV and L series can still be seen on the street. Saturn got into trouble when Honda stopped selling V6 engines to GM motors, and Saturn started to build their own quickly. 

 

Having a new identity always goes with Saturn, and this brand suits the EV. 

 

Why not other brands for EV 

 

Existing Brand Identity: Chevrolet is a subbrand of GM, and they have a very good reputation. They are also making EVs like the 2024 Bolt EV, Bolt EUV, etc. But it’s a relatively small number of EV vehicles. Switching to complete EV production requires a completely new process line and training. That’s a long process.

 

Consumer’s Perception: This perception you always have to think about before prodding something new. If people discover Chevrolet is producing the EV, traditional vehicle structures may pop into their minds. Some people do not like seeing Chevrolet into EVs because they want to see a brand dedicated to EVs like Tesla. 

 

In summary, if GM wants to go into EV production, it should establish a whole EV-dedicated brand or resurrect a dead brand like Saturn. 

 

Possible Strategies to Resurrect EV Models Under Existing Brands 

 

It’s not easy, even for a well-known company like GM, to establish a completely new brand name dedicated to EVs. First of all, as EVs are expanding their market, it’s time to produce more and more EVs from GM brands. But they are exactly doing the opposite now, launching an EV model under a well-known brand. 

 

Parallel Line-Up Strategy 

Most professionals in this sector suggest that EVs under a well-known brand don’t fulfill ICE consumer’s satisfaction. That’s why a completely dedicated EV brand is what GM should look for. According to the experts, Saturn is the best choice because people used to get new and unique features from it. 

 

Model Conversions

Well, that’s a good strategy, according to many of us. Consumers like a specific model of ICE; why not make that a hybrid or fully electrical? Even if people desire to buy these popular ICE models, they’ll buy the EV model. 

 

 

Partnership and collaboration

Developing an EV brand under an existing brand often happens through partnership and collaboration. GM is prevalent in California, Florida, etc., but the people who have used GM vehicles don’t like to have a new brand of EV. So, if the new brand collaborates with the existing GM brand, it will be much easier to sell under the banner of GM brands.  

 

The Reasons behind not Resurrecting Saturn as dedicated to only EV

 

● Saturn had a specific identity and history, creating lots of controversy. Even EV1 of Saturn turned into a funny car for all. 

● GM may have plans to expand the existing brand’s vehicle lineup to EVs like they already have for Chevrolet, GMC, Cadillac, and Buick. 

● Brand identity confusion, like Saturn, was known for its customer-centric approach, fuel-efficient and small vehicle. GM has plans to produce a wide range of EV vehicles, from small to large.  

● Also, competition is another crucial factor for not resurrecting a dedicated brand for EVs, whether it’s an already existing brand or not. Any new face will need help to expand their business now because they are competing with Tesla. 

 

FAQ GM Motors

Will GM ever bring back Saturn?

Well, there was a fake protest against completely shutting down Saturn. GM didn’t take that positively and never hinted at bringing Saturn back again.

Can you still buy a new Saturn?

It disbanded in 2010 and never came back with any new car. So there is no chance of having a new Saturn car now.

Conclusion

A Saturn sky pulled up next to me and my wife even last week as we waited. My wife asked what happened to them, and a few people were capturing the photo. If Saturn introduces an electric vehicle, people will naturally seek out any special features of that car because that’s what we used to do once from Saturn.