Why GM is not totally at fault for the downfall of Saab

Almost everyone might be blaming GM for the dying Saab brand. Experts though tried to look at the scenario from different perspectives and reason out that it is not all GM’s fault:

The first decade of ownership of GM involved having a 50% stake which has only minimal management control .
Saab as a brand has already been compromised with components and chassis sharing even before GM got involved.
GM also issued their reservations and concerns when the Chinese showed interest because of inevitable technology transfer.
Selling the brand to Spyker showed that GM did not want to kill the Saab brand but what could have been the right step during that stage.
If due diligence was done on the end of GM, Saab should have not been sold to Spyker and should have just been closed.
The Spyker purchase of Saab was an impulsive purchase. Spyker acquired Saab as a trophy brand to pull up their credibility. Spyker and its management did not have the skills and experience to manage a big brand like Saab.
Spyker did not handle the negotiations with the Chinese well. They were not in control. It was naïve of them to think that GM will waive its objection to the involvement of the Chinese.
The initial 54% stake of the Chinese was given a go signal by GM and was only blocked when the Chinese wanted a total ownership.

Looking back, GM took Saab from the noses of Fiat after Ford out maneuvered them for Jaguar. Just the what if’s of life, what might have been if Saab remained with the Italian company.

Saab rescued by equity firm in the United States, but challenges remain

An investment firm headed by racing car lover Alex Mascioli which purchased the sports car firm from the Saab Dutch owner last September is thinking of injecting $70 million to help keep the car company afloat as the bridge financing from Chinese investors look bleak.

Swedish Automobile that holds control of Sweden’s Saab confirmed that they are accepting a $10 million investment and a loan of $60 million from the North Street Capital owned by Mascioli to help with its reorganization.

The overall picture though is still not good enough for Guy Lofalk, the administrator of Saab, who plans to file a petition in the Swedish courts so it will stop the voluntary reorganization of the automotive firm. Saab however said that it will block this petition and request the courts for the replacement of the current administrator.

Last June, Swedish Automobile had a non-binding understanding with Zheijiang Youngman Lotus Automobile of China to acquire a 29.9% share and Pangda Automobile to get 24% stake for a combined funding of around $338 million.

In the early part of 2011, Noth Spyker acquired luxury car brand Spyker from Swedish Automobile for around thirty two million euros.

Swedish Automobile has been trying hard to avoid bankruptcy for the past months while looking for new investors and releasing a number of assets in order to pay off employees, settle bills with suppliers, and resume production in their factory in Sweden.

North Street will be acquiring 2.38 million shares of Swedish Automobile which were recently issued. Documentation for this transaction is expected to be completed by next week.

Hearing for Saab bankruptcy scheduled before the end of the month

Struggling car manufacturer Saab’s hearing for its bankruptcy is scheduled on 26 September according to a district court in Sweden. Saab will be appearing in a lower court in Vanersborg, a town in the southern portion of Sweden.

Saab has to deal with two white collar worker unions complaining about unpaid salaries for the month of June thru July. They are also not compensated yet for the month August. . The unions served applications for bankruptcy last week to push for the activation of an insurance scheme by the state to handle the wage problems.

One spokesperson of the worker unions shared information that the process might take 3 to 5 weeks.

Saab, on the other hand, announced money-raising activities spearheaded by the company’s CEO Victor Muller. The car producer arranged for around $96 in bridge loan with the aid of a Chinese guarantor. The bridge financing gives Saab some more time as they take legal steps to protect the company from creditors. It has sought for the court’s protection for the second time as it tries to restructure.

One of Sweden’s lower court rejected the case of Saab but the car manufacturer filed for an appeal so the case can be reconsidered.

Saab reveals specs of US version of 9-5 SportCombi

While Saab is struggling to get some good funding, the carmaker aims to maker cars and sell them. The 9-5 SportCombi is one that might help it get the ball rolling again and we have been waiting for news about what version will be rolling onto the US soil. Good thing Saab recently released a brochure about the Saab 9-5 SportCombi prior to its scheduled release in North America.

According to the Saab document that is all over the net, the 2012 905 SportCombi will make use of a 220 horsepower 2.0L 4-cylinder, turbocharged powerplant with a torque of 258 pound-feet. The engine of this handsome wagon will be linked to an automatic gearbox with six speeds and its XWD or Cross Wheel Drive technology implemented by Saab.

The 9-5 SportCombi also gets a good setup for its interiors as Saab gives it an upscale, pricier treatment. It will come with heated seats, panoramic moonroof, keyless start, and touch screen navigation unit as standard issues. Other options include a Technology Package which will give he 9-5 SportCombi a park assist system, lane departure warning, head up display, and bi-xenon lights for cornering. Another option will be the Rear Passenger to give you a DVD player, eight inch screens, tri-zone HVAC, and wireless headphones.

There is still no word about the pricing of this ride.

Saab plans to distribute in China and Russia

Saab Automobile is laying out their plans to sell their cars in China by 2011. According to its CEO Jan Jonsson, the initial roll out will involve a few thousand vehicles every year with the supply line depending on importing the units. It will be a wait and see situation until the company launches the new 9-3 before the end of 2012, and when they will manufacture the car locally.

The top priority of Saab is to outline their first web of dealerships in the Chinese market. They are looking setup initially in six cities and have around 15 dealerships. If ever Saab will produce the vehicles in China, the next gen 9-3 will be the starting point followed by the 9-5 and the 9-4X crossover. The car manufacturer is aiming to sell around 10,000 units per year before considering the local production of its vehicles. The 9-4X will hit the US market by April while non-US consumers can expect it by August.

The Saab 9-4X comes with two V6 powerplant options. Both of the engines are coupled with a six-speed automatic gearbox. There is a 3.0L engine that produces 265 horsepower which speeds up the 9-4X from 0 to 60 miles per hours in just 7.9 seconds with the FWD version while the XWD version comes in at 8.4 seconds.  The 2.8L variant of the V6 produces 300 horsepower and a torque of 295 lb-ft. This version on an XWD configuration blasts from 0 to 60 in 7.7 seconds. The tag price for the 9-4X begins at $34,205.

Saab collaborates with Hirsch Performance for go faster-parts for roll out with dealers

Saab is exerting its efforts to boost the enthusiasm of the market towards their car line up especially the 9-3 and the 9-5 but licensed architectures are limiting their options since they cannot modify the licenses to compete with GM’s products.

Without any license hindrances a 2011 9-5 engine which outputs 220 horsepower can easily be tweaked so it will output a far better 260 hp. This is one among the other things that can be done to the line of powerplants of the Saab vehicles.

For now the top executives of Saab is in talks with Hirsch Performance, a known Saab tuner in Europe, to come up with performance parts that can be offered and installed by dealers for their market in North America and their other markets. The car manufacturer though has not yet decided under which brand name the go-faster parts will be marketed since Hirsch is not a well known tuning company outside Europe or to the not so diehard fans of their brand.

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Koenigsegg buys Saab, brings Quant electric car to life

Everyone was surprised when Koenigsegg, a Swedish car company specializing in the production of super cars, was the leading bidder for the sale of Saab, a struggling car company at present time due to the global economic crisis. Specialists, enthusiasts, and spectators alike could fathom the logic behind Koenigsegg’s desire to take over a mainstream brand when it has been creating supercars year after year without problems.

Last week, the story of Koenigsegg’s plan to buy Saab got more and more interesting when it has been reported that Koenigsegg and General Motors have already signed a memorandum of agreement regarding Saab’s sale. Moreover, Baard Eker, the co-owner of Koenigsegg said in an official statement that the Swedish car company has a number of solutions planned and they have what it takes to save Saab from bankruptcy.

The Swedish news company Realtid, reported that taking over Saab would enable Koenigsegg to bring their electric concept car Quant to reality. Saab’s facilities would allow Koenigsegg to produce electric cars, such as the Quant electric car concept and many more.

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Saab off to Koenigsegg’s Garage

The tale of Saab may come to a close with a three way agreement through a letter of intent between General Motors, Koenigsegg, and a group of investors from Norway.

GM disclosed that it will no longer call the shots for Saab and the Swedish car manufacturer will be an independent entity by January 2010.

The announcement of the sale may come before the end of the month, considering the plans of the car maker to write off some debt and be on the positive side of the scale by 2011. Final negotiations might be taking place but final details are still being ironed out according to insiders.

According to the Saab spokesperson, there were three firms that are still showing interest for the company and the sale will push through despite of the filing of Chapter 11. Those remaining on the negotiating table are Swedish car maker Koenigsegg, Wyoming investor group Merbanco, and the Renco Group of Ira Rennert. The bidders’ number was trimmed down from a list of 20.

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