Saab Cars North America has reached an agreement with OnStar to continue to offer OnStar subscription service to Saab customers under the automaker's new owner, Spyker Cars NV. The agreement begins with model year 2010 vehicles and applies to Saab vehicles sold in the United States.

As a standard feature on the Saab 9-3 Aero and the all-new Saab 9-5 models, OnStar continues its tradition of "always being there" with highly trained and knowledgeable OnStar advisors to assist Saab customers when they need it most. The OnStar service is complimentary for one year for Saab customers.

"OnStar is a critical technology that our customers demand and expect," said Mike Colleran, President and Chief Operating Officer Saab Cars North America. "With this agreement, we look forward to continuing to deliver exceptional service and support for Saab customers."

OnStar offers a number of industry-first safety and security services like Automatic Crash Response and monthly OnStar Vehicle Diagnostic e-mails. Additionally, OnStar's Turn-by-Turn Navigation is the only embedded vehicle navigation system that pairs audible directions through vehicle speakers with the support of a live OnStar advisor. OnStar Hands-Free Calling can also make it easy to stay in touch while on the road by allowing drivers to use simple voice commands to connect with others while keeping their eyes on the road, hands on the wheel and minds on the drive.

"I am very pleased that we're going to be able to continue to provide the safety, security and peace of mind of OnStar to Saab customers," said Chris Preuss, OnStar president.

An exciting line-up of Saab model year 2010 vehicles have arrived in dealer showrooms across the United States. The manufacturer's suggested retail price for every 2010 model year 9-3 variant has been reduced anywhere from 4 to 12 percent compared to model year 2009. The 9-5 model will arrive mid-Summer. Pricing on the popular sedan will be released in the near term.

Additionally, Saab recently announced a return to leasing with GMAC Financial Services as the preferred provider of wholesale and retail financial services for qualified Saab dealers and customers. The leasing option was effective April 1, 2010 in the United States.

After months of negotiations and setbacks that left Saab's fate in limbo, Dutch sportscar maker Spyker said Tuesday it had finalised the purchase of the iconic Swedish brand from General Motors.

Spyker's CEO Victor Muller told reporters in Stockholm it was hard to imagine that the process his company, a minnow in the car industry, had started three months ago to acquire Saab was finally over.

"Its been a very rough ride ... to come to the point that we are today, that we have actually bought Saab and Saab is now saved," he said.

Saab Automobile and Spyker Cars will operate as sister companies going forward, both held by holding company Spyker Cars N.V., which is listed on the Amsterdam Euronext exchange, Spyker said in the statement.

Saab "will become more entrepreneurial, it will become a company that has to stand on its own legs and that has to determine its own future," Muller said, adding Saab, owned by GM since 1990, would have "no more lifelines to a big conglomerate and that is a very important step."

Muller said his immediate goals for the company were "to actually start building cars again, to revamp the energy in the dealer body, to demonstrate to the market that we are for real, there to stay, and coming out with incredible projects."

Spyker and GM reached a deal last month for the sale of Saab for 74 million dollars (54 million euros) in cash and about 326-million-dollars' worth of redeemable preferred shares to be retained by the American giant.

Spyker said in a statement the transfer of ownership took place at 1530 GMT on Tuesday.

Saab chief Jan Aake Jonsson described the deal as "the complete package."

"We have completed the deal between Spyker and General Motors, and in conjunction with that, also signed the loan agreement with the European Investment Bank that also has the state guarantee from the Swedish government managed through the national debt office," he said.

Saab's future had been in doubt throughout 2009 as GM, going through bankruptcy, radically restructured its business and tried to sell off what it saw as non-core and unprofitable assets.

"This is a great day for Saab employees, dealers and suppliers, and a great day for millions of Saab customers and fans worldwide," GM said in a statement.

Saab's Jonsson said "we are looking forward to restart the business in terms of not only the manufacturing side but a lot of the development projects we have."

In a statement he said the Swedish company would now focus on the introduction of its new 9-5 model later this year.

"If we can (ensure) that the new generation of Saabs, starting with the 9-5, and the subsequent 9-4, and then the new 9-3, will be really Saabs, the way the customer was used to Saabs being Saabs, we will get them back," Muller said.

"If doesn't take rocket science to figure out that if Saab just gets its own customers back, we will make 100,000 cars in no time," he added.

Spyker manufactured 21 cars in the first quarter of 2009 and sold 23 for prices starting at 199,990 euros. It has a workforce of about 90 assembly workers while Saab has 3,400 employees in Sweden alone.

Russian billionaire Vladimir Antonov, forced out of Dutch carmaker Spyker before it bought Saab from General Motors, said in comments published Saturday that he wants to help finance the new company.

"There is unfortunately widespread economic crime in Russia but we don't take part in that, and are rather victims of it," Antonov told Swedish business daily Dagens Industri.

"If GM gives me that possibility, I will gladly invest (in Saab) both as an owner and as a lender," Antonov added, arguing GM was behind his exclusion from the Saab deal.

When Spyker announced its 400-million-dollar purchase of Saab from GM on January 26, it said its CEO Victor Muller would be taking up the whole of Antonov's 30 percent stake in Spyker, without giving a reason.

But on Friday, Antonov said he was taking part in financing the Saab deal despite no longer holding a stake in Spyker, through a loan from his Convers Group company to Muller's Tenaci holding.

"I can definitely confirm that I paid the first part (of the loan), that 25 million dollars were made available to Tenaci by Convers Group. That is totally true," he told Svenska Dagbladet newspaper.

On Saturday, the same newspaper quoted Antonov as saying he was open to offering more financing to Saab Spyker, which he said could enter the Russian market with his help.

He also said he wanted a Saab plant in Russia.

"It depends on GM changing its mind and letting me in. If so, we will plan on opening a plant in Russia and starting production."

General Motors announced on January 26 a "binding agreement" to sell its Saab division to Dutch luxury sports car maker Spyker as part of a restructuring of its business to cope with the impact of the global slump on the industry.

Shareholders of Dutch luxury sportscar maker Spyker on Friday overwhelmingly approved its acquisition of Sweden's Saab from General Motors.

The deal got a further boost when the European Investment Bank approved a 400-million-euro loan to Saab, guaranteed by the Swedish state.

"The proposal to acquire Saab was accepted by the vast majority" at an extraordinary shareholder meeting held in Zeewolde in the central Netherlands, Spyker chief executive Victor Muller told journalists via a webcast.

"Of the 8.4 million shares (from a total of 16 million) represented at the meeting, all of them voted in favour with the exception of 1,174 votes represented by the Association of Stock Owners, which abstained from voting."

Spyker and GM reached a deal last month for the sale of Saab for 74 million dollars (54 million euros) in cash and about 326-million-dollars' worth of redeemable preferred shares to be retained by the American giant.

Saab's future had been in doubt throughout 2009 as GM, going through bankruptcy, radically restructured its business and tried to sell off what it saw as non-core and unprofitable assets.

In another development Friday, the European Investment Bank said it had "confirmed the authorisation to conclude the 400-million-euro (545-million-dollar) loan to Saab" and agreed that it would be guaranteed by the Swedish state, a statement said.

The European Commission backed the Swedish state-guarantee earlier this month.

Spyker, a minnow in the global auto industry, manufactured 21 cars in the first quarter of 2009 and sold 23 for prices starting at 199,990 euros. It has a workforce of about 90 assembly workers while Saab has 3,400 employees in Sweden alone.

Spyker said earlier this month that it intended for Saab to turn a profit by 2012, requiring an investment of about a billion dollars.

The Swedish company, which manufactured under 30,000 cars in 2009, hoped to increase this figure to more than 120,000, its chief executive Jan-Ake Jonsson said at the same press conference.

Muller said Spyker would apply for a double listing in London and later possibly also in Stockholm, and would consider delisting from the Amsterdam stock exchange.

"Having a listing in London is a much better way of getting close to investors than staying in Amsterdam," he said.

Proposals to change the new company's name to Saab Spyker Automobiles would be discussed at the next annual general meeting in April.

Muller had reiterated the finalisation of the deal would be conditional on Spyker obtaining the loan from the European Investment Bank.

The EU's competition watchdog on Monday approved Swedish plans to act as guarantor for an European Investment Bank (EIB) to automaker Saab.

The European Commission ruled that 83 percent of the 400-million-euro (600-million-dollar) loan was in line with temporary EU rules on state aid measures, drawn up to help companies through the economic and financial crisis.

The remaining 17 percent will be provided on market conditions and therefore does not constitute state aid, the commission stated.

"The state guarantee will contribute to the implementation of Saab's business plan without giving rise to any undue distortions of competition," said EU Competition Commissioner Neelie Kroes.

In particular, Saab will pay "an adequate remuneration" for the guarantee and provide sufficient securities in case the guarantee would be drawn.

Sweden announced last month that it will guarantee the loan following a decision by US automaker General Motors to sell Saab to Dutch luxury sports car maker Spyker.

As part of the agreement, Spyker will form a new company, Saab Spyker Automobiles, that will carry the Saab nameplate forward.

GM officials said the deal called for Spyker to pay 74 million dollars in cash and allow GM to retain redeemable preferred shares worth an estimated 326 million dollars.

The Swedish loan is to help Saab produce less polluting and more eco-friendly cars.

Dutch luxury sportscar maker Spyker said it expected its newly acquired Saab business to be profitable by 2012, with the former General Motors unit giving it a rare opportunity to develop a global brand.

Sweden's Saab "will be repositioned towards an independent performance-oriented niche car company with an industry-leading environmental strategy," Spyker said in a statement late Monday.

Saab's business plan will require some one billion dollars (715 million euros) in funding "in advance of the return to profitability, forecast to occur by 2012," Spyker said.

GM will provide 326 million dollars, with 400 million euros coming from the European Investment Bank and the rest from bank sources, it added.

"With this financing in place, the business plan does not envisage any future funding being required, neither from Spyker or elsewhere, for Saab to return to profitability," Spyker said.

"The business plan targets (annual) car production and sales at or below historical levels of 100,000 to 125,000."

Giving details ahead of a planned shareholders meeting on February 12, Spyker said it would change the name of the company to Saab Spyker Automobiles NV, which will "operate Spyker and Saab as two separate operating companies."

It said Saab will be a "stand-alone niche manufacturer" with three to four model lines -- the existing 9-3 model series, the 9-5 and the 9-4X.

It will also "investigate the potential of adding a fourth smaller car line (the 9-1) in due course provided that the positive development of the smaller car segment continues."

Saab will continue to compete against the Audi and BMW marques "as a premium brand, leveraging its strong and unique brand heritage."

Saab's future had been in doubt through 2009 as GM, going through bankruptcy, radically restructured its business and tried to sell of what it saw as non-core and unprofitable assets.

The sale to Spyker, a minnow in the global auto industry, was finally reached only late last month after agonising negotiations.

In the first quarter of 2009, Spyker manufactured 21 cars and sold 23, with a workforce of about 90 assembly workers while Saab has 3,400 employees in Sweden alone.

Sweden forced a Russian billionaire out of Dutch carmaker Spyker on suspicion of shady dealings before allowing the group to take over Swedish-based Saab, a newspaper reported Saturday.

Business daily Dagens Industri, quoting a government official, said Swedish intelligence suspected Vladimir Antonov, who had a 30 percent stake in Spyker, of money-laundering and links to organised crime.

The intelligence report passed on to the US Federal Bureau of Investigation led Saab owner General Motors to reject an initial offer from Spyker in December and announce the shutdown of the Swedish firm, Dagens Industri said.

When the 400 million dollar deal was finally announced on Tuesday Spyker said its CEO Victor Muller would be taking up the whole of Antonov's stake, without giving a reason.

Dagens Industri quoted a junior finance minister, Hans Lindblad, as confirming that a Swedish investigation into Antonov had led to GM blocking the deal with Spyker last month.

GM officials said Tuesday the deal calls for Spyker to pay 74 million dollars in cash and allow GM to retain redeemable preferred shares worth an estimated 326 million dollars.

Assuming quick action, the transaction is expected to close in mid-February.

Spyker said the terms call for an installment of 50 million dollars by the expected closing date of February 15 and for 24 million to be paid on July 15.

Sweden will guarantee a loan of 400 million euros (563 million dollars) from the European Investment Bank to support the transaction.

US automaker General Motors has agreed to sell its Saab brand to Dutch luxury sports car manufacturer Spyker, US television channel CNBC said Tuesday.

A Spyker spokesman refused to confirm the report to AFP, and GM officials were not available to comment.

But the Dutch financial market regulator suspended trading in Spyker shares on the Amsterdam stock exchange Tuesday "pending (a) press release" from the sportscar maker, bidding for Sweden's Saab.

Trade was suspended at 1245 GMT "until further notice," the Netherlands Authority for the Financial Markets (AFM) said in a statement.

Spyker's shares gained 2.84 percent Tuesday to reach 3.91 euros at suspension, having risen more than 60 percent on Monday.

Spyker spokesman Sander van Dijk confirmed that "we will issue a statement later today" but gave no further details.

GM head Ed Whitacre said Monday his struggling group was in advanced talks with Spyker to sell off the Swedish brand but there was no firm deal yet.

More than 2,000 Saab drivers gathered in their cars in the Swedish brand's hometown Sunday to show support for the iconic mark that owner General Motors said it would wind down, an organiser said.

"It's hard to know exactly how many cars there were, but an estimate we've done puts the number at 2,500," Claes Robertsson, the head of Saab Turbo Club of Sweden, a group of Saab admirers, told AFP.

Robertsson said both Saab employees and brand enthusiasts had attended the rally, in which drivers from Germany, Denmark, Norway, the Netherlands and Britain also took part.

Swedish news agency TT said the demonstration started at the Saab museum in its southwestern Swedish hometown of Trollhaettan and ended at the Saab factory.

According to local police, the four kilometer (2.5 mile) stretch was entirely filled by Saab cars, TT reported.

General Motors announced on December 18 that it would wind down the brand which has barely turned a profit during two decades under GM ownership, but several groups have since made last-ditch bids for it.

They include Dutch sportscar maker Spyker, a group comprised of Formula One boss Bernie Ecclestone and Luxembourg investment firm Genii Capital, and a Swedish group fronted by the former chief executive of German truck manufacturer MAN and a former politician.

Amid media reports that Spyker's was the only bid still being considered, Genii-Ecclestone negotiator Lars Carlstroem told AFP Sunday his group was still in the running to acquire Saab from GM.

Saab, which employs 3,400 people in Sweden, is one of four major brands being sold by GM as part of a massive restructuring that began in 2005 and accelerated last year when the largest US automaker went bankrupt.

Analysts have warned that some 8,000 jobs could be lost with Saab's closure.

While many in Sweden had hoped emblematic carmaker Saab could be sold to a new owner, General Motors' decision to close its money-losing brand was no surprise, Swedish editorialists agreed Saturday.

GM said in a statement Friday it would wind down Saab Automobile after failing to reach agreement with Dutch sports car maker Spyker on a sale of the division, just three weeks after another luxury car maker, Koenigsegg of Sweden, withdrew its bid for Saab.

"It is a tragic but nonetheless not totally unexpected announcement that Saab will now be wound down," Goeteborgs Posten said, while noting that Saab had barely turned a profit in two decades under GM management.

Most commentators blamed GM for not doing enough to bring out Saab's full potential and said the Swedish centre-right government -- which repeatedly said the state would not step in as owner -- could not be blamed for Saab's fate.

"The government did what it could to facilitate a sale of Saab and kept the door open for loan guarantees," conservative daily Svenska Dagbladet wrote.

"Now that Saab has come to the end of the road and it's time to write the epilogue, much of the blame will be placed on General Motors' lame ownership," it said.

The Swedish government vowed Friday to help the 3,400 employees in Saab's hometown of Trollhaettan and the thousands of other subcontractors who will soon find themselves out of work -- up to 8,000 according to some reports.

But the mass-circulation Dagens Nyheter warned against quick fixes to help the town of 55,000 deal with the blow.

"The government should keep a cool head. Dispensing money to build up replacement industries usually ends in failure," it said, recalling previous efforts after crises in the textile and shipbuilding industries.

GM's decision was also a heavy blow to Prime Minister Fredrik Reinfeldt's government as it struggles in the polls ahead of Sweden's general election in September, financial daily Dagens Industri noted.

The government has been lambasted recently over a reform of sickness benefits, leaving it trailing in the polls behind the opposition Social Democrats, seen as the founders and protectors of Swedes' cherished welfare state.