Archive for Saab

It looks like Beijing Auto has fast-tracked its plan to reap the benefits from its Koenigsegg/Saab investment. But of course knowing the mainland Chinese stuff like this were probably the plan all along.

BAIC is thinking about buying the tooling and design rights for the outgoing 9-5 sedan that has been just replaced and putting it back onto the market.

But of course the questions then would be what badge it would be sold under and which markets would it be available? The 9-5 is a premium car – parts and maintenance will not be cheap, so it has to stay as some sort of a ‘premium’ car.

When Koenigsegg announced that it was interested in taking over Saab from GM, other than the usual questions on whether the Swedish supercar company would have the ability and experience to turn the brand around, there was also the question of how Koenigsegg was going to finance the deal.

Of course they’re going to get help – and the first ‘partner’ has been announced – Beijing Auto. Beijing Auto will be taking up a stake in Koenigsegg which will help them finance the Saab takeover bid. “This is an important step on the road toward a new Saab. We have a well prepared business plan, an important partnership and we are ready to proceed without government financing,” said Koenigsegg CEO Christian von Koenigsegg.

Beijing Auto was not successful in their bid to get a piece of the GM Europe pie with Opel and Vauxhall, but plan B seems to have worked – they now have another way in through Saab. There were also rumours earlier this year that Beijing Auto is seeking to buy Delphi’s non-core assets and Volvo, though now Geely is the only sole bidder for Volvo. Beijing’s JV partners in China include Daimler AG and Hyundai.

Saab’s Head of Brand Design says these are exciting times for Saab and that’s quite true actually, as Saab now has a new car and a new owner as well.

GM and Koenigsegg’s deal has been confirmed and 100% of Saab stock will be transferred to Koenigsegg by the end of the year, subject to terms and conditions including funding commitments and transitional assistance for Saab by GM from being a GM brand into a new independent marque.

The new Saab 9-5 looks considerably less like its predecessors and it reminds me a little of a large Skoda Fabia with a butt, for some reason. It’s got design cues inspired by the Saab Aero X concept car. The interior is typically Saab with jetfighter cockpit inspiration and the backlighting is all done in an old school green. I think one of the last manufacturers around to use green backlighting was Ford with the pre-facelift Focus, Ranger and etc. Know of any else? But Saab’s green has a much more premium look to it – more jetfighter instrumentation than pasar malam digital clock.

The engine options can take either one of 3 fuels – petrol, diesel and E85 bioethanol. At launch time, the 9-5 will have a 160hp inline-4 turbodiesel, a 220hp 2.0 liter turbocharged petrol engine, and a 2.8 liter V6 turbo with XWD all-wheel drive making 300 horses and 400Nm of torque to help get all those horses down onto the tar. The BioPower E85 engine will be available after the launch – a 2.0 liter unit. Another petrol engine will also be added, an entry level 180hp 1.6 liter petrol.

Loads of buzzwords are packed into the marketing brochure – head-up information display (HUD); adaptive headlights (Bi-Xenon Smart Beam); adaptive cruise control; Saab DriveSense adaptive chassis with real-time damping control; keyless entry and starting; dual-zone climate control; dynamic parking assistance, and Saab XWD with eLSD. The car’s entertainment system uses a hard drive for map data and has reserved 10GB of dedicated music storage.

Look after the jump for a video and photos of the new 9-5.

Click here to read the rest of New 2010 Saab 9-5 unveiled: Photos and Video

It appears that GM’s Saab division will go to Swedish luxury supercar manufacturer Koenigsegg, if final negotiations on the subject go well. A Swedish TV station reported late last week that a Letter of Intent was signed to take purchase negotiations one step further.

This new ownership could change the kind of cars that Saab offers. Currently as part of GM it kinda tries to be some kind of volume seller because that’s just the way GM does stuff, but probably because of branding and maybe product that strategy never did work out well. GM’s parts bin never did gel well with the kind of products the Saab brand used to stand for and the modern Saab’s attempt to be more friendly to the masses did not receive a hot response.

Under the new supercar maker owner, it could evolve into a more specialized manufacturer, producing niche cars for a smaller customer base. The only question is, will young Koenigsegg have the experience to manage a company like Saab? Fortunately for both Koenigsegg and Saab, the supercar management is not just made up of its young CEO, but also includes investors. Koenigsegg will also be bringing some other investors into the Saab deal later, because frankly I don’t think a niche supercar maker like Koenigsegg is able to afford to buy up Saab on its own.

According to published reports by Swedish based; The Local, production lines at struggling auto maker Saab’s Trollhattan plant has ceased. Apparently this is because the Swedish Customs has temporarily blocked the transportation of all goods to, and from the factory after revealing that Saab has failed to pay considerable amounts of custom duties.

Due to the discontinuation of the parts supply into the factory, Saab had no choice but to grind everything to a halt. This sudden and unforeseen event occurred after the General Motors-owned brand filled for reorganization in Swedish courts a couple of days ago on March 21st.

Customs officials revealed that Saab has to pay the amount (which was undisclosed) it owes the agency in order to resume its factory operations and the agency confirmed that the auto maker has to pay every single cent of it, and that the customs has no interest in giving the struggling auto maker a helping hand.

In another development, Saab is seeking an approximate amount of US$ 1 billion to enable the restructuring to take place and thus far it has yet to receive any indication regarding the crucially needed funds. By filling for restructuring, Saab will be reshuffled into a whole new organization that would be viable for investment. The courts in Sweden will appoint an executive who will head the company during the period.

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Saab might go bankrupt in 10 days

Saab may be the next automotive manufacturer casualty in this recession, right after Ssangyong filed for court receivership earlier this year. GM says Saab is just 10 days away from bankruptcy, and if it does not get financial aid soon it will have to file for reorganization or bankruptcy.

Reorganization will allow them to negotiate with their creditors and convince them that it will be able to reorganize and writedown the value of its debts in goodwill. Once in a state of reorganization (receivership), creditors cannot come knocking for debts and GM will also cease control over Saab.

Saab will then be able to go to the Swedish government for help again, although attempts at asking for a bailout have not been successful in the past. GM says it only wants a bailout to keep Saab running long enough to find a buyer.

It asked for US$568 million, however Swedish Industry Minister Maud Olofsson said Saab has been running at a loss for years now and she did not get elected to give a bailout to a company with a bad track record, something that she views as irresponsible. She also says she will not put the burden of owning car companies and car factories on the Swedish taxpayer.

Anyway, if their creditors are not convinced that a successful reorganization can occur in the first place, it will have to proceed with bankruptcy.

Source

According to a report by Bloomberg which cites unnamed sources, GM is considering dropping the Saab brand amongst other marques in efforts to continue raising enough money to continue operating. It has also appointed a real estate agent to sell some of its European assets worth over US$250 million.

Both attempts could be hard in this economy when everyone is reluctant to spend, so it might be tough to find buyers for its unnecessary buildings or brands such as Saab. There has been speculation that the Swedish government have been keeping an eye on Swedish brands Saab and Volvo which belong to GM and Ford respectively, and might pick them up if their Detroit owners decide to sell them.

Source

Saab will be displaying an open top version of the Saab 9-X BioHybrid Concept unveiled earlier this year called the Saab 9-X Air Concept.

The Paris 2008 concept car will be powered by what is most probably GM’s future “non-Volt” hybrid powertrain combination – a 1.4 liter engine that supports E85 flex-fuel mated to a 6-speed twin clutch transmission and assisted by an electric motor powered by lithium ion batteries.

The existence of both a hatchback and open top version of the Saab 9-X concept cars point to the upcoming Saab 9-1 car emulating the likes of the Audi A3 and the BMW 1-Series in terms of model offering.

Look after the jump for a hi-res gallery of the concept car.

Click here to read the rest of Saab 9-X Air Concept open top at Paris 2008

Saab’s “Power When You Need It” advertisement shows us small things demonstrating great power – echoing the ability of of downsized turbocharged engines with relatively lower displacements to produce high amounts of power and torque. It’s nothing clever or witty, and maybe even cliche, but the nice background music gives the video a dramatic effect. Video after jump.

Click here to read the rest of VIDEO: Saab 9-3 Turbo “Power When You Need It”

The Saab 9-X BioHybrid Concept combines the design language from the Aero X in this revival of the old Saab 9X Concept, Saab’s earlier concept hatchback back at the 2001 Frankfurt Motor Show. Read more on the concept after the jump.

Click here to read the rest of Saab 9-X BioHybrid Concept