Saab Insanity: This Carmaker Is Rapidly Nearing Its Ninth Life
When last we checked in on Saab, it wasn't looking too good. The tiny Swedish carmaker was out of cash, couldn't keep its assembly lines running, and was confronting a worker strike. There was hope in the form of two obscure Chinese interests -- but also skepticism that the deal would pass muster with the Chinese government. But now everything has changed.
Brand new Saabs!
Well, not really. Saab just announced that it's established a formal business relationship with Pang Da and Youngman, a lifeline that would give the Chinese a majority stake in Saab. The central authorities in the Middle Kingdom could very well still quash this sucker, as they seem bent of drastically reducing the number of automakers trying to capitalize on China's turbo-charged growth.
A little over the week ago, I blogged about how this was probably the most likely outcome. However, I didn't expect Saab to announce a follow-on deal, with Youngman, to develop three new vehicles.
This is ambitious and could very easily be interpreted as foolish optimism or some kind of media play to make it seem like Saab has a far brighter future than is realistic. This is certainly what Edward Niedermeyer of The Truth About Cars thinks.
Maybe this is really about survival... in China
Youngman in particular could be looking at the Saab machinations as a superb way to make itself meaningful. China wants to reduce the the players its its auto industry by an astonishing 90 percent. Youngman's connecting itself with a well-known Western brand means that it could -- and I emphasize could -- wind up selling cars that the growing Chinese middle class will like. As I've written plenty of times, it isn't that often that an established Western automotive brand goes on sale.
Ironically, this could benefit Saab internationally. We don't have much detail on the new Saab models, but smart money says we'll get a compact, plus a new full-size sedan and a crossover with 7-passenger seating.
These vehicles would slot perfectly into what's selling right now in the U.S. and Europe, in terms of market segments. And lord knows that Saab has needed a refreshing of its model lineup for years now.
Even the Russian is back in
If this all comes to pass, even shadowy Russian financier and Saab-lover Vladimir Antonov gets to re-enter the picture. You'll recall that former Saab owner General Motors (GM), which maintained voting rights on Saab's future even after it sold the carmaker, was opposed to Antonov's involvement.
I think this was due to fears that Opel-based technology from Saab would somehow be diverted to the burgeoning Russian auto industry. Of course, if Saab survives and starts to engineer new models from Sweden, with mostly Chinese backing, that weird retro Cold War anxiety goes away.
Look, the misadventures of Saab have clearly entered some kind of extremely surreal realm. But there's a but of a positive trend slowly emerging right now. So maybe Saab has a few lives left to live, after all.
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