Dutch carmaker refreshes bid for Saab

• Source: Global Times
• [01:12 December 21 2009]
• Comments

The focus on core brands "will enable the company to devote more engineering and marketing resources to each brand and model," GM said.

It has been trying to sell the unit since the start of the year. Swedish luxury car maker Koenigsegg, a company that builds around 18 cars a year, pulled out of a deal to buy Saab last month, citing costly delays.

Like Koenigsegg, Spyker is also a niche premium car manufacturer.

In 2008, it sold just 37 cars worldwide with prices starting at 200,000 euros ($290,000).

Saab sold just over 93,000 cars worldwide last year.

The company employs about 3,400 people in Sweden. According to media reports, Saab's closure could lead to more than 8,000 job losses, including subcontractors and others dependent on the carmaker.

Saab's history as a carmaker dates back to the 1940s, when the first cars were produced by the Swedish aircraft maker Svenska Aeroplan Aktiebolaget or SAAB. GM acquired Saab Automobile in 1990.

AFP