Saab and GM’s Relationship Fades

By Logan Utsman on Sunday, December 18th, 2011

Just as it looked like Saab was on the verge of flat-lining, a complete buyout was presented by Chinese Pang Da and Youngman. Saab’s parents, Swedish Automobile N.V., went for even going as far as selling their former name, Spyker, to an American company. There was one catch however and so far, it has been a big one: General Motors. The Swedish car maker’s former owners are still invested into the brand due to the 9-4X crossover that rides on a GM Theta platform. GM has yet to be pleased with the proposal and even after a few revisions, they still reject the buyout. “Saab’s various new alternative proposals are not meaningfully different from what was originally proposed to General Motors and rejected,” said GM spokesman Jim Cain to Automotive News.com.

GM’s grip is that the buyout would affect them as a company and their stockholders. They feel that Pang Da and Youngman would be allowed too much control over something that is very much a GM vehicle. Another issue is the potential damage of GM’s already strong market share in China. A collaboration between the two Chinese companies and Saab could mean that vehicles like the 9-5 would become more readily available in the country. The Buick Regal would more than likely not want the added competition. As it stands right now, GM has turned down every revision to the Saab buyout. If things continue in this fashion, the 9-4X would simply stop and or Swedish Automobile N.V. would have to find a way to fill its void.

Source: AutomotiveNews.com

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