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REPORT: Saab still has at least two interested parties - BAIC and Merbanco
2010 Saab 9-5 – Click above for high-res image gallery
When Koenigsegg pulled out of its agreement with General Motors to purchase Saab, many thought that General Motors would dump the Swedish automaker much like it did the Saturn brand. But it appears that The General is still willing to look for another interested party, and speculation is that two perspective buyers are at the front of the line. The Swedish press is reporting that China's Beijing Automotive (BAIC) and Wyoming-based merchant bank Merbanco have shown renewed interest in perennially cash-poor Saab.
Saab spokeswoman Gunilla Gustavs reportedly told Automotive News that there were 27 suitors interested in the Swedish automaker prior to Koenigsegg becoming the preferred bidder and confirmed that there are now other bidders interested. "We have a close dialog and close contact with several who have expressed interest in buying Saab Automobile," Gustavs says.
if another bidder does win the opportunity to purchase Saab, they'll inherit an automaker that expects to lose $427 million in 2009 and a similar amount of cash in 2010. That buyer will also run into plenty of resistance when trying to get its hands on GM's technology assets. One issue that reportedly derailed the Koenigsegg bid was GM's reluctance to share its tech for new products like the new Saab 9-5. On the upside, the aforementioned 9-5 sedan has just begun serial production, the 9-3X allweatherwagon is ready to go, and the 9-4X looks to be just around the bend, too.
Earlier in the week, GM released a statement stating that it would "take the next several days to assess the situation and will advise on the next steps next week." Thanks for the tips, everyone!
Gallery: 2010 Saab 9-5
[Sources: Autocar; Automotive News; Auto Motor und Sport]
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 3)
cedar 9:51AM (11/28/2009)
There really isn't much question that Saab will fail. A few thousand die hard fans throughout the world, willing to put up with design and quality flaws because of "Saab-ness" are not enough to keep the company going. They lost their way after 1995 and have not offered a competitive product except for the latest configuration of the 9-3, and even that was marginal.
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Niko 10:03AM (11/28/2009)
What a shame that koenigsegg pulled out and left saab in the dust, hope someone else will pick it up and give it the tlc it deserves.
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dukeisduke 10:04AM (11/28/2009)
The best thing would be to just let Saab die, before the name gets applied to some substandard product that's a Saab in name only. Wait a minute - oh yeah, that already happened. It was called the 9-7X.
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Matt_Shift 11:33AM (11/28/2009)
althouuuuugh, the 9-7x Aero is a beast. even if it is an suv with a failtragic tranny.
i love saab. waiting for the day they bring back something as beautifully quick as the 9000Aero
Change 2010 10:11AM (11/28/2009)
Goodbye SAAB.
I think SAAB's demise began when it lost it's identity and stopped building rugged 5 door sports sedans.
Too many manufacturers doing the plush sedan thing ,and in the meanwhile BMW and Honda are coming out with 5 door sports sedans.
SAAB stopped building SAABs.
Lost their unique vision and place in the market.
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dieselpj 10:25AM (11/28/2009)
can we stop selling everything to china
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jinushaun 10:42AM (11/28/2009)
Seriously! GM is digging its own grave. 10 years from now they'll see what a strategic blunder it was to sell all their technology to the Chinese. This is like the US training the Taliban all over again!
ij70 11:18AM (11/28/2009)
No.
why not the LS2LS7? 12:21PM (11/28/2009)
All they're really doing is selling brand names at this point. Chinese companies don't have to buy Saab (or HUMMER or whatever) to figure out how to make cars.
I personally don't think the Saab brand name will be a big factor in the worldwide acceptance of Chinese cars in the future.
asng15 1:00PM (11/28/2009)
whoelse u think have that much of money right now?
AngeloD 5:00PM (11/28/2009)
""This is like the US training the Taliban all over again!""
How exactly did you arrive at this conclusion. The Taliban wasn't even formed until 7 years after U.S. involvement in Afghanistan ended in the late 1980's.
The Taliban was formed, funded, trained, and equiped by the Pakistani ISI. It is led almost entirely by what the native Afghani's call "foreign Arabs" who were never offered or rejected U.S. assistance during the Soviet occupation. Or do all Muslims look alike to you?
An anology to your thinking would be saying that since the US funded and equiped some of the White Russian forces during the Russian revolution, therefore were are responsible for the Bolsheviks coming to power. Nonsense.
Just another bit of faith-based Liberal mythology you have there.
And does GM ever have a talent for killing off car companies with their rebadging crap. Add SAAB to that list along with Isuzu.
the4thheat 12:32AM (11/29/2009)
Sure you can if you prefer going bankrupt. Otherwise, just suck it up like Ford did selling their luxury brands to India. In hindsight it was definitely the right thing to do, since those companies kept bleeding money anyway except now it isn't Ford's problem.
Who cares anyway, China is already bankrolling us anyway and without Chinese cashola we'd be as bankrupt as Saab would be. Other than being a blow to the ego it really doesn't matter in the grand scheme of things-while we might have to be friendlier since they're our bankers they also have to be friendlier to us since we have to actually pay them back.
GT40fan 10:32AM (11/28/2009)
I for one am excited to see SAAB live on!
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Clavius 12:52PM (11/28/2009)
So am I.. but that is because I work at one of their dealerships (non-salesman thank you very much haha)
dystroglycan 5:11PM (11/28/2009)
saabs are so nice, hopefully they live on till a time i can own one of their reserved yet beautiful cars
Avinash machado 10:41AM (11/28/2009)
I hope they will survive in some form. But I guess it is unlikely. There seems to be a brand saturation in the automotive world and a few brands might end up dead.
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pickles 11:31AM (11/28/2009)
Don't seal the coffin yet. Several things Saab has that NONE of GM's other flops (Pontiac, Saturn, Hummer) could brag about are:
- 2 totally NEW vehicles, ready to sell. The 9-4x and 9-5 are ready to sell. No further development needed. NONE of the others had ANYthing new to sell to potential purchasers.
- Rabid loyal fans. Sure there aren't many, but studies have said Saab loyalists are more attached to the brand and the cars than VW or others
- Current turbo, safety technology, regardless of GM's interest in sharing.
- Ready to go factories. No buyer would need to reconsider where to build.
SO.. maybe there's some hope. It would be a bummer to loose Saab.
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Clavius 12:58PM (11/28/2009)
I agree with your statements.
I currently work at a Saab dealership and I see people dropping 3-4 thousand dollars for repairs on a 1997 Saab. Like seriously here how loyal is that? That and some people even with newer cars will comment to me "Oh I've owned Saab's since I was a teenager" and these people are easily in their 50's.
The tooling of the 95 plant to me seems like a MAJOR bonus to any buyer I just hope this "technology" sharing that scuttled the other deal doesnt happen again. That and GM doesnt drag their feet again.
Clavius 12:55PM (11/28/2009)
Would of loved to see Christian buy the company but GM had to be jerks about it. I'd rather see the Merbanco bank buy it since I've been hearing they are known for turning companies around rather than doing nothing (Cerberus anyone?) or strip mining the company and then selling them off to someone else (Diamler your ears ringing?). The Chinese company yes the money would be great I'll admit but I honestly see them lowering quality and replacing Saab with cheap built Chinese pos car brand.
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Tim 1:01PM (11/28/2009)
The only value SAAB has is in its two new products. I see those being rebadged and sold in China. The brand is of almost no value in the States and, I believe, of little value in Europe. If SAAB lives on, it won't be in a fashion that any enthusiast will like.
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