Saab May Be Finished for Good This Time - VIDEO ENHANCED

STOCKHOLM - May 15, 2011: According to a report written by Mark Preel for AFP, the dream-come-true rescue of Saab automobiles from extinction may unfortunately have been a fairy tale all along. The inability of Chinese automaker Hawtai Motor to come up with the $200-plus million buy-in investment they had promised Saab will almost undoubtedly be the final death knell for the Swedish car maker.

The AFP story stated that “Saab's future appeared secure and its financial crisis solved at last when Spyker announced on May 3 that China's Hawtai would pour 150 million euros into the carmaker in exchange for a 30 percent stake in Spyker. But the deal collapsed Thursday because Hawtai Motor Group had been unable to obtain the necessary approvals for it go through…”

Hawtai Motor Company’s official comments suggest a slightly different take on the situation, saying that they continue to examine options for possible cooperation with Spyker Cars N.V. (Spyker) and investment in Saab Automobile AB (Saab Automobile).

Hawtai Vice President, Richard Zhang, said “After the unfortunate termination of our agreement with Spyker, Hawtai continues discussions with Spyker and our review of cooperation options with Saab remains a top priority.”

Mr. Zhang continued, “This situation is complex. It was commercial and economic realities, not lack of government approval, which forced the termination of our May 2 agreement. Saab needs help and we strongly believe we are the best partner in this regard. We are very focused on coming up with a fair and reasonable structure for a long term relationship.”

The rescue of Saab had seemed to be out of the question as recently as November 2009 when Victor Muller, CEO of Spyker Motors first announced his interest to acquire Saab from General Motors. GM’s original comments virtually scoffed at Muller’s public interest in Saab. However, Muller’s persistence eventually paid off and a deal was struck. But obviously Muller’s enthusiasm was not (will not be) enough to save Saab.

The Auto Channel has been very supportive of all efforts to save Saab and saw Victor Muller’s acquisition as a very positive step. At one point, prior to the final sale of Volvo to another Chinese company, The Auto Channel even suggested that Sweden’s big box retail chain IKEA should acquire both Volvo and Saab and then market the vehicles worldwide via their retail outlets.

In December 2009, during the Los Angeles Auto Show, The Auto Channel’s Henny Hemmes sat down with Victor Muller for an exclusive video interview. You can read the complete story and watch the entire interview by CLICKING HERE.

For more information about the Spyker-Saab-Hawtai deal see: Saab $223 Million Partnership With Hawtai Motor Group .