Saab on the brink of closure.
Swedish car maker Saab is so close to going bust that it can't afford to pay its staff this month. It has already suspended production because it has failed to pay suppliers.
The company has been in trouble for years, having been catastrophically mismanaged by owner General Motors (GM), but it found hope when a new buyer took over.
That buyer, Spyker, promised to return Saab to its glory days with fresh investment and a different approach to new models. The 9-3 and 9-5 Saabs built under GM were never anywhere near the best of the premium classes they competed in.
Spyker, a Dutch supercar maker, bought Saab from GM at the beginning of 2010. It even sold its supercar business to concentrate on running Saab.
Unfortunately, Spyker needed to attract considerable outside investment to turn Saab's fortunes around quickly, and it has failed to do so.
Saab's sales in 2010 were miserable - only 30,000 cars were sold worldwide. The company needed to sell 120,000 just to break even. To put those sales into perspective, Vauxhall has sold 30,000 Corsas in the UK alone so far this year.
The new 9-5 executive saloon, which competes with cars like the BMW 5 Series and the Audi A6, was met with a lukewarm reception when it was launched last year, resulting in lacklustre sales.
And the company's latest car, the 9-4X crossover, which was developed by GM but stalled while the sale to Spyker went through, is already receiving less-than-enthusiastic reviews. It goes on sale in the UK in December, assuming Saab is still around then.
When Spyker bought Saab it did so with around £350 million from the European Investment Bank. That money has dried up, and it's unlikely that Spyker will be able to attract more.
However, two Chinese companies have declared interest in investing, Zhejian Youngman Lotus Automobile and Pang Da Automobile, but it's now thought they will simply wait until Saab goes bust, then buy the brand rights and assets for a minimal sum - the same thing that Nanjing Automobile Group did when MG Rover went under in 2005.
Spyker has made no official announcement about its predicament yet, apart from confirming "discussions with various parties to obtain short-term funding, including via the sale and lease-back of the real estate of Saab."
Swedish car maker Saab is so close to going bust that it can't afford to pay its staff this month. It has already suspended production because it has failed to pay suppliers.
The company has been in trouble for years, having been catastrophically mismanaged by owner General Motors (GM), but it found hope when a new buyer took over.
That buyer, Spyker, promised to return Saab to its glory days with fresh investment and a different approach to new models. The 9-3 and 9-5 Saabs built under GM were never anywhere near the best of the premium classes they competed in.
Spyker, a Dutch supercar maker, bought Saab from GM at the beginning of 2010. It even sold its supercar business to concentrate on running Saab.
Unfortunately, Spyker needed to attract considerable outside investment to turn Saab's fortunes around quickly, and it has failed to do so.
Saab's sales in 2010 were miserable - only 30,000 cars were sold worldwide. The company needed to sell 120,000 just to break even. To put those sales into perspective, Vauxhall has sold 30,000 Corsas in the UK alone so far this year.
The new 9-5 executive saloon, which competes with cars like the BMW 5 Series and the Audi A6, was met with a lukewarm reception when it was launched last year, resulting in lacklustre sales.
And the company's latest car, the 9-4X crossover, which was developed by GM but stalled while the sale to Spyker went through, is already receiving less-than-enthusiastic reviews. It goes on sale in the UK in December, assuming Saab is still around then.
When Spyker bought Saab it did so with around £350 million from the European Investment Bank. That money has dried up, and it's unlikely that Spyker will be able to attract more.
However, two Chinese companies have declared interest in investing, Zhejian Youngman Lotus Automobile and Pang Da Automobile, but it's now thought they will simply wait until Saab goes bust, then buy the brand rights and assets for a minimal sum - the same thing that Nanjing Automobile Group did when MG Rover went under in 2005.
Spyker has made no official announcement about its predicament yet, apart from confirming "discussions with various parties to obtain short-term funding, including via the sale and lease-back of the real estate of Saab."
John
"My lovely car now sold onto a very happy new owner.
I still love this marque and I will still be around, preferred selling to breaking, as a great runner and performer"
"My lovely car now sold onto a very happy new owner.
I still love this marque and I will still be around, preferred selling to breaking, as a great runner and performer"
