Other possible options for Saab

As previously reported Saab will not be owned by Koenigsegg at least for now and Saab, or should I say General Motors is left with a few options. The most talked about option is the ‘death’ of the Saab brand. General Motors previously said that if Saab is not sold by end of the year, the auto giant will bury it. Other possible options include the take over by other companies that are interested and when it comes to this, many are pointing towards Chinese companies that are on a take over frenzy.

Geely is very close in sealing the deal with Volvo and there is possibility that it may extend its interest to Saab. We should not discount other companies like Dongfeng, BAIC, Fiat, Merbanco (US-based merchant bank) and so on. One thing is for sure, who ever is interested to take over Saab has to part with a lot, and I mean a lot of money. One would have buy it from General Motors and then spend a hefty sum and not to mention a lot of time bringing the brand back into profitability.

The Swedish government is unlikely to make a bid because it recently revealed that it has no interest in owning Volvo or Saab, however it has promised to provide up to US$ 3 billion in loan guarantees. There is also a possibility that General Motors will eventually keep the brand, just like what it did with Opel. The reason behind that was the improved business environment in Europe, according to General Motors that is.

This is what General Motors’ president and CEO Fritz Henderson said when they decided to keep Opel, “While strained, the business environment in Europe has improved. At the same time, GM’s overall financial health and stability have improved significantly over the past few months, giving us confidence that the European business can be successfully restructured.”

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Harvinder Sidhu

Harvinder Singh Sidhu thinks there's nothing better than Formula 1, not even sliced bread. Having written about cars since 2006, he plunged head first into the industry out of a passion for all things four-wheeled and everything in between. The F1 enthusiast has been following the sport since 1999 and has been keeping up with it since. In between races he keeps himself busy as the host of the Driven motoring show and as our version of the Joker.

 

Comments

  • torque (Member) on Nov 27, 2009 at 8:08 pm

    Betul Paul…beli Proton beli…money is "small" compare to the knowledge that Proton could gain from the company…well…a very large money that is… :-)

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  • torque (Member) on Nov 27, 2009 at 8:10 pm

    Hey?! Where's my comment?

    Like or Dislike: Thumb up 0 Thumb down 0
  • Paul Tan on Nov 27, 2009 at 8:11 pm

    It's there?

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  • torque (Member) on Nov 27, 2009 at 8:12 pm

    Sorry Paul…crappy net line…

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  • Wolfsburg on Nov 27, 2009 at 8:17 pm

    Saab is not an easy brand to operate… During th GM era they didn't fully utilise the brand and causing the brand to have such a pathetic market share in the worldwide market… My vote will go to the China's automaker Geely or BAIC… Although many people still thinks that those people are not reliable but they got lot of cash to inject into the company, and China is such a great place for the brand…

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  • I think SAAB is very good car and reliable but their design sucked untill recently where they came with some fress designs. I now couple neighbors from my home town that still own SAAB's from the 70's or 80's but never heard them complaining and the owners use them on daily basis. So it's a good technogy to buys, here's your chance PROTON.

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  • sonyman on Nov 27, 2009 at 9:06 pm

    it is so sad, i kind of loved Sweedish cars, Volvo and Saab, so sad they are not taken well off, its like an unwanted child. bloody GM, buy the company never manage properly and wanna close down those who built the company with their sweat, damm you GM hope you being bought by a china company and close you down.

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  • torque (Member) on Nov 27, 2009 at 9:08 pm

    Agreed with Mari…imagine that the next model like the Satria will carry the tagline like…Tuned by Lotus, Powered by Saab, Made by Malaysia! Not bad huh…if they buy it lah! :-)

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  • Mazda 3 MPS on Nov 27, 2009 at 11:50 pm

    watever, PROTON CHINA INDIA, none can handle SAAB

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  • litespeed on Nov 28, 2009 at 3:07 am

    Fools. Proton annual budget is equivalent to the annual budget of, say, BMW Muenchen office cafeteria. Perhaps less.

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  • Mazda 3 MPS on Nov 28, 2009 at 3:52 am

    if one has been to the BMW WELT, you would be mighty impressed the way things are done overseas….

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  • lowprofile on Nov 28, 2009 at 7:42 am

    SAAB is famous for turbocharging… if only they had a good suitor with deep pockets… so sad.

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  • anoneemus on Nov 28, 2009 at 9:15 am

    Proton buy over it! with what money i dont know but just do it!

    Like or Dislike: Thumb up 0 Thumb down 0
  • Mazda 3 MPS on Nov 28, 2009 at 9:20 am

    anoneemus said,

    November 28, 2009 @ 1:15 am

    Proton buy over it! with what money i dont know but just do it!

    —————————–

    would you like a punch?

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  • anoneemus said,

    November 28, 2009 @ 1:15 am

    Proton buy over it! with what money i dont know but just do it!

    —————————–

    would you like a punch?

    ————————-

    haha,punch him,punch him,.,.,

    why proton should buy this cmpny?they already got lotus..

    dont waste proton money..

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  • Mazda 3 MPS on Nov 29, 2009 at 3:53 am

    aim said,

    November 28, 2009 @ 6:37 pm

    anoneemus said,

    November 28, 2009 @ 1:15 am

    Proton buy over it! with what money i dont know but just do it!

    —————————–

    would you like a punch?

    ————————-

    haha,punch him,punch him,.,.,

    why proton should buy this cmpny?they already got lotus..

    dont waste proton money..

    ———————-

    no really, he say "BUY WITH WHAT MONEY I DON KNOW', does that mean he is alright if the Malaysia Government takes out more of the Malaysian People's money to buy nonsensical stuff? With more people like him, Najib will be even more brave to buy used Soviet submarines which can only sink down but can't surface up

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