Saab to be rescued by Chinese and Russian investors?

Is Youngman looking to supplement it’s current Proton platform-based offerings with additional more upmarket models? We hear that Saab is nearing to confirming a deal with one out of a total of three Chinese automakers that it is currently talking to, which include Youngman Automobile Group, Great Wall Motor, and Jiangsu Yueda Group.

The deal would allow Saab to raise funds to stay afloat – things are so bad that it has halted production. At the same time, it would allow Saab a way to enter the Chinese market – the world’s biggest auto market. The Chinese company would jointly produce Saabs in China, and can also distribute the cars. A Chinese manufacturer Beijing Auto Industry Corp is already licensing the last generation Saab 9-5 platform and has showcased a concept based on it called the BAIC T60.

Because of the current production halt, Saab will most likely not be able to meet its sales target of 80,000 units a year this year. It did 30,000 cars last year. Sales this quarter was over 9,000 cars, compared to over 3,000 cars the same quarter last year. It’s parent company Spyker posted a loss of 79 million Euros this recent quarter, compared to a profit of 6.96 million Euros the same quarter a year before. They’ve clearly took on something that’s proven to be a little too big for them to handle.

“We have opened up alternative routes to fund the company mid and short term including, but not limited to, discussions with Chinese car manufacturers,” said Spyker CEO Victor Muller. Sweden’s Debt Office and General Motors have also approved a plan for Russian businessman Vladimir Antonov to invest 30 million Euros into the company for a 29.9% stake.

© 2011 Paul Tan's Automotive News. All Rights Reserved.

This story originally appeared on Paul Tan's Automotive News on Sun, 01 May 11 11:27:19 +0000.

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