General Motors has confirmed that it has an agreement to see its Saab brand to Swedish specialty car maker Koenigsegg. The deal is expected to conclude in the third quarter of this year and includes a roughly $600M funding commitment from the Swedish government.
Much like the sale of its Saturn brand, GM will continue to build Saab vehicles for several years under contract until the new company can development its own models.
IL News: GM Selling Saab to Koenigsegg
estreka says:
12:09 PM, 06/16/09
Still no news about where these cars will be sold? I don't think I have a local Koenigsegg dealership here...
dougtheeng says:
12:51 PM, 06/16/09
Here's hopin' for Saab's return to glory. Fingers crossed....
n_tesla says:
04:36 PM, 06/16/09
Once upon a time SAAB could use the advertising tag line "The most intelligent car in the world" and not be laughed at.
Customers stood in line to buy black on black SAAB turbos. There was an active performance after market and racing program. Then came GM.
I owned one of the "real" SAAB's and currently own a recent generation 9-3. I would trade the new one for the old one in a heartbeat.
I hope that new ownership can reinvent the brand.
brn says:
07:51 AM, 06/17/09
Am I the only one that wonders how a 50 person company is going to manage something like Saab?
firstwagon says:
08:23 AM, 06/17/09
Saab already has a management team of Saab employees. Koenigsegg is only replacing GM as the owners and likely upper management.
I would imagine it will be business as usual for the rest of the Saab staff other then the direction the company will take in the future.
Too early to tell for sure but my prediction is this could be very good for Saab. Under GM they would either be gone in 5 years or just a badge on a GM vehicle (which is the way they were heading).
brn says:
01:43 PM, 06/17/09
In that case, I should run Saab. :)
Seriously, it seems like they're biting off more than they can chew.
firstwagon says:
03:39 PM, 06/17/09
I'd love to run Saab but everytime I hear a Swedish accent I start laughing and think of this...
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jc_UCc8EQcQ
Somethings you never get out of your head :)