Spyker
Saab 9-1 and Two Other Models Get Green Light as Chinese Joint-Venture Signed
Having just signed a deal with two Chinese partners, Saab chief Victor Muller has immediately shown he knows how to work the media. Rather than sit quietly, Muller has already announced plans to build three new models, while a new joint-venture arrangement secures medium-term funding for the production of Saabs current lineup. Two of the…
Saab Resumes Production Tomorrow
Saab will finally gain some stability, as the company will resume production tomorrow at its Trollhattan, Sweden, assembly plant. The facility has been idle for about six weeks. Saab’s owner, Dutch automaker Spyker, has been unable to secure the much-needed financing to pay off its suppliers, but the automaker says it has reached agreements that…
Saab Chinese Funding Deal Means Spyker Gets Name Change
As part of Spyker’s capital-raising efforts for its ailing Saab brand, the Dutch automaker is entering into talks with Chinese automotive company Pang Da, and will have to rename itself as Swedish Automobile N.V. as part of the deal. In return, Saab will get a $42 million cash payment, ostensibly to help pay Saab’s substantial…
Saab Plans To Restart Production Next Week
Since “All My Children” and “One Life To Live” have been canceled, soap opera fans can turn to Swedish car-firm Saab for their weekly dose of drama. Saab has seen its fair share of ups and downs in the last year and a half. General Motors almost left it for dead when a take-over deal…
Saab Signs Joint Venture With Chinese Car Distributor Pangda
Saab appears to have yet again found a savior in China, announcing a joint venture with Pangda Automobile Trade Co., the largest distributor of vehicles in the world’s largest car market. The deal will see Pangda purchase 30 million Euros ($42.5 million) in Saab vehicles, with a second purchase of 15 million Euros ($21 million)…
Great Wall, Spyker, In Talks Regarding Saab
With the apparent collapse of the deal between Hawtai and Spyker, the Dutch parent company of Saab is now courting Chinese automaker Great Wall in an apparent bid to find a partner for the ailing Saab brand. Hawtai was apparently unable to get the necessary approval to complete a transaction with Saab worth 150 million…
Saab Could Sell Chinese Built Cars In America, Priced At $10,000
Saab’s partnership with Chinese automaker Hawtai could see the ill-fated Swedish luxury brand use its dealer network to sell cheap Chinese cars in America, with some priced at the magic $10,000 mark. “We laughed when the Japanese came,” Victor Muller, Saab’s chairman, told Automotive News. “We laughed when the Koreans came. But we will not…
Saab Revived By $222 Million Investment From China’s Hawtai Motor Group
Saab has been rescued from near-collapse yet again after an agreement was signed with China’s Hawtai Motor Group. The agreement will form a joint venture for manufacturing, distribution and technology between Saab owner Spyker and Hawtai. It will also provide $222 million in funding for Saab, ending the Swedish automaker’s halt in production caused by…
Saab To Resume Production After Short Term Loan
With Saab parent company Spyker Cars having secured a 30 million euro short-term loan, Saab vehicles will now resume production after a payment dispute with suppliers forced them to suspend their operations. Saab CEO Victor Muller released a statement to the media, remarking “I would like to apologize to our dedicated employees, suppliers, dealers and customers…
Russian Financier Vladimir Antonov Clear by Swedish Government to Fund Spyker
Vladimir Antonov, Russian banker, investor, billionaire, and perennial runner-up for Most Interesting Man In The World Award, has been cleared by the Swedish National Debt Office to become a shareholder in Spyker, and ultimately Saab. Despite possible connections with organized crime that any Russian billionaire is expected to hold in the first place, Antonov has…
Spyker C8 Laviolette Special Edition Announced for China
In hoping to continue capturing a huge emerging market, Spyker has announced a special edition C8 Laviolette that will be available in China. Not many details have been revealed about the C8 Laviolette Special Edition, but it will be offered in a unique orange finish for around $735,000. This is all in line with Spyker’s…
Saab Gets Funding to Restart Production
According to website Saabs United (sounds more like a soccer team if you ask us), the Swedish government has given Saab the go-ahead to secure more funding from a European bank.
Saab Production Halt Continues Amid Reports Of Unpaid Bills Worth Millions
Saab parent company Spyker held talks with parts suppliers Thursday, in a bid to restart production that has been halted over a dispute regarding unpaid bills. The scandal has been a blight on Saab’s efforts to re-structure after a tumultuous year of teetering on the brink of bankruptcy. “We’re expecting that we could resume normal…
Saab Production Halted Due To Payment Dispute With Suppliers
Saab has halted production yet again amid another dispute with suppliers. Saab representatives declined to say how long the production stoppage would last, but said that they were in discussions with their suppliers to resolve the matter. Saab’s parent company Spyker said that last week’s production stoppage was related to unpaid bills. In an interview…
Saab Resumes Production After Suppliers Stop Delivering Parts
After a tiff with suppliers who had halted their parts deliveries, Saab has now resumed production at its main factory. Like a deadbeat dad, Saab had stopped paying their suppliers. But the company had an excuse, and a potential solution: after their sales plummeted for the last few years, they appealed to former Spyker chairman…
Saab CEO Retires, Victor Muller Named As Interim Replacement
Saab CEO Jan Ake Jonsson will retire from Saab on May 19th, with the 59 year old executive leaving Saab during a tumultuous time. Saab Chairman Victor Muller will act as interim CEO as a search for a replacement gets underway. Jonsson, who was reportedly planning to retire regardless of the situation, will assist with…
Saab Could Miss Sales Targets, Go Bankrupt Admits Potential Russian Investor
Russian billionaire Vladamir Antanov isn’t done with Saab yet. Forced out of the Saab deal when General Motors sold off the Swedish automaker to Spyker, he recently re-acquired the Spkyer brand from the combined Saab Spyker Automobiles through a British coachbuilder he’s heavily invested in. Now Antanov is stirring up trouble suggesting Saab might miss…
Spyker Sold to British Coachbuilder for $44 Million; Russian Mafia Ties Pop Up Again
Spyker Cars, a Dutch sports car company no one would know of were it not for its purchase of Saab from GM, has just announced its own sale. Sort of. The current company known as Saab Spyker Automobiles will retain Saab, but sell off the niche-market Spyker brand for $44 million to CPP Global Holdings…
Saab 9-3 Convertible Independence Edition Previewed Ahead of Geneva Debut
Fresh from the clutches of its GM masters, Saab is celebrating its independence (to Spyker, anyway) with another special edition of the aging 9-3 convertible, shown ahead of its formal announcement at the Geneva Auto Show. With just 366 editions available, you can bet somebody will be paying top dollar for one in 20 years….
Spyker Aileron Spyder Forgoes Audi V8 in Favor of Corvette ZR1 Power
While concentrating on its newly acquired Saab brand, Dutch sports car maker Spyker is still in the business of building its own unique machines. Debuting over a year ago, the Aileron Spyder follows after the coupe model, but its about to get one major change. Powering the hard-top is a version of Audi’s 4.2-liter V8,…
Saab To Let Customers Watch Their Cars Get Built Via Webcam
Saab is planning on letting buyers watch their cars get assembled at their Swedish plant via a webcam link, as the company seeks to move back to a more personalized buying process. Buyers will be encouraged to have their cars custom built, rather than picking from the dealer’s existing inventory. Buyers will be alerted to…
Saab, BMW to Announce Partnership on Wednesday
After numerous rumors, reports and plenty of speculation, Saab is set to sign a deal with BMW that will see the Swedish automaker get access to BMW technology and parts for future models. It is believed the first such model will include the a Saab small car based on the current MINI Cooper platform. News…
Spyker Completes Saab Purchase from General Motors Ahead of Schedule
In what is no doubt a bid to prove the viability of the Saab brand and the stability of its new ownership, Spyker Cars has announced the completion of its purchase of Saab from GM ahead of schedule. The final $24 million payment is due in two weeks time, but Spyker chose to complete the…
Spyker Aiming for 700 Percent Increase in Sales by 2013
Dutch sports car maker Spyker Cars expects to become a more significant player in the exotic automobile market in the near future, with claims that sales will increase seven-fold over the next two years. In an interview with Business Week, Spyker sales manager Peter van Rooy commented that in 2012 the Dutch automaker expects to…
