Saab GB into administration

GM shot down the €100M full purchase offer

You say: At the end of October, Saab received a conditional offer of 100 million euros (£88m) from Chinese investors Pang Da and Youngman for the entire company, to be payed in several installments. Saab is yet to receive any of the Chinese funding, suggesting that terms of the deal are yet to be finalised, and hence this latest measure to buy more time.

But GM shot down the 100% purchase offer at €100M pretty quickly.

By r0mac on 29 November, 2011, 3:28pm

Payed

*paid

By alan_jenney on 29 November, 2011, 11:42pm

I think this means Saab is even more on the edge than ever before, basically if this Chinese deal falls through or doesn't come through very soon they're over for good.

By danielcrawford on 30 November, 2011, 12:18pm

Saab

I am afraid Saab have been a "Sinking Ship" for years, it's a brand no one wants, and to keep pushing it has finally become unsustainable, close up and go.

By john550i on 1 December, 2011, 9:39am

No place in the market

There's just no place in the market for them. They are squeezed between the premium German makes (and Jaguar) who dominate the top end of the market and the better of the budget brands, such as Ford, who are having to head up-market because of the wealth of far eastern brands such as Kia who are increasingly dominating the low end of the market. Saab are just too small to be able to keep going. Sadly Volvo are also pretty much in the same position.

By ncollingridge on 1 December, 2011, 9:55am

On the edge?

Someone needs to give it a shove! This is borderline ridiculous that this company is still almost going. They haven't made a car since April! It's sad to see SAAB go but certainly not sad for the models made in the last 20 years. GM should never have sold the company when they did, you don;t bother to launch a whole new and fairly good model and publicly sell the company mid-launch which effectively killed it dead. Didn't BMW do the same with Rover and it's rather good 75? And for GM to now scupper what little chance SAAB had of investment seems morally bankrupt of GM.

By JamesRiley on 1 December, 2011, 2:23pm

Swedish motor industry - out in the cold

What ncollingridge says is pretty accurate. There's been no reason to buy a Saab for years. Most will go upmarket to Audi, BMW, etc. or downmarket to VW, Ford, Honda, etc. Why bother risking your hard earned cash on a Saab when there are so many cheaper and better alternatives out there?

Same with Volvo. Other makes are now just as safe and durable and often cost less to boot. How many 60 or 61 plate S40s/V50s have you seen, for example? And the large discounts already being offered by some dealers on the new S60 show that this model too is beginning to struggle. Poor management and product planning are largely to blame, unfortunately.

By CrystalBall on 4 December, 2011, 1:17am

Doubt they will succeed

I echo the comments above. But it is a real shame as they had such character about them that they were popular at one time.


http:mylookathealth.blogspot.com

By DrAbs on 5 December, 2011, 9:10am

Shot themselves in the foot

Saab only have themselves to blame for their demise. My experience with the dealerships was appauling. I once went in to look at a £30k car to possibly select as a company car. The salesman was friendly enough, up to the point I told him it was a company car purchase, at which point he abruptly ended conversation, and simply walked off and shut himself in an office. Consequently I permonantly dissasociated myself completely from the brand. A friend of mine owned a Saab, and terrible service from the dealers. Plus they were horrible cars in general.

By Wadadli_Cooler on 16 December, 2011, 4:01pm