Saab Files for Bankruptcy

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By Henny Hemmes
Senior European Editor
The Auto Channel

THE HAGUE - December 19, 2011: This morning, Swedish car manufacturer Saab has filed for bankruptcy at the Court of the Swedish city of Vänersborg.

In taking this step, Saab, who had been heavily fighting off its downfall, seems to have bowed its head and accepted its demise.

Former Saab owner General Motors has (again) played a major role in the debacle. The Swedes were struggling financially for quite some time and hoped to solve their problems by turning to Chinese car manufacturer Youngman. An advance payment was part of the deal, but the move met a veto from General Motors who is afraid of a Chinese buyer competing with GM-brands in China. GM owns preferred shares in Saab and was able to exercise the veto. Production of Saab automobiles in Trollhättan has been idle since the beginning of April

In an official statement the manufacturer says that a bankruptcy the best solution for the creditors. The response of the Court is expected soon. Later today, Saab’s Victor Muller will likely come with a press statement.

GM bought 50 percent of the shares of Saab in 1990 and the Swedish company became a full daughter of GM in 2000 but did little to invest in its future. There were efforts, resulting in sharing Saab-platforms with Cadillac and Subaru, but the respective models failed to be successful.