Saab Production on Hold for at least Two More Weeks

Ailing Swedish car manufacturer Saab will not be producing new vehicles for at least two more weeks until it resolves the problems with its suppliers, the company said on Monday.

"There will be no normal production during weeks 25 and 26 (June 20th-July 3rd)," Saab spokeswoman Gunilla Gustavs told Reuters. "We are still negotiating with all suppliers and we need to get everyone on board at the same time. The weeks of 27-29 (July 4th-24th) are planned to be normal working weeks".

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Saab UK Announces 2012 9-5 Sedan and SportWagon Amidst Production Halt

If there was ever an award for bad timing, Saab’s UK division would probably be a front-runner this month. You see, there is something fundamentally wrong with announcing pricing and details on a new product when its production has been suspended (even if, as Saab claims, proves to be temporary, in which case, why not wait?).

In any case and with Saab’s future depending on deals that still need to be approved from Swedish, European and Chinese officials, the company gave out UK pricing information on the 2012 model year 9-5 range, which benefits from the introduction of the SportWagon and a series of enhancements, including additional features and further reduced CO2 emissions for all engines.

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Vladimir Antonov Withdraws Proposal to Buy and Leaseback Saab Property

The ink has barely dried on Saab’s latest attempt to form a preliminary deal with China’s Pang Da Automobile and Youngman, and the Swedish company is faced with yet another problem as Russian investor Vladimir Antonov has withdrawn his proposal to buy and leaseback Saab property.

"The property sale is now being discussed with external investors," said Lars Carlstrom, Antonov's representative in Sweden. However, Carlstrom noted that the Russian banker was still interested in becoming a shareholder in Saab’s parent company Spyker Cars NV.

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Saab Signs Three-Way Deal with China’s Pang Da and Zhejiang Youngman Lotus Automobile

Lately, it seems whenever there’s a problem with production at Saab’s Trollhattan plant, the Swedish automaker’s parent company Spyker Cars N.V. announces a new deal with a Chinese company.

Today, Spyker signed a non-binding memorandum of understanding (MOU) with two Chinese firms, Pang Da Automobile Trade Co., Ltd (Pang Da) and Zhejiang Youngman Lotus Automobile Co., Ltd. (Youngman), which if approved by regulators, could see the company falling into the control of Chinese hands. We'll remind you that Saab had previously signed a deal Chinese firm Hawtai but it failed to go through Chinese regulators.

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Coffee and Cars: Eric Leong’s Saab Nespresso Concept

Industrial design student Eric Leong, who we first heard about with the 2015 Toyota Prius study, has taken two famous brands, Sweden’s Saab and Switzerland’s Nestlé and melded them. The result is the Saab Nespresso Concept, a four-seat sport coupe with some clever design touches. Outwardly it looks like a cross between the 2008 Saab 9-X Air BioHybrid Concept and Toyota’s FT-86 Concept of 2009, but it’s on the detail side of things were Leong’s idea really shines. Read more »

Saab Temporarily Suspends Production Again while it Seeks Parts

The on-off production drama over at Saab’s Trollhättan facility in Sweden continues as the troubled automaker said Wednesday that it temporarily halted production due to a lack of components from its suppliers only two weeks after resuming making cars following a seven-week shutdown.

Saab said that it anticipated production hiccups in the start-up phase, as the supply chain still is not fully operational with some suppliers holding back until they get paid and others trying to re-stock.

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This is what Happens when a Limousine, Convertible and Yacht Meet

In today's highly competitive auto market, one would think there are no new niches left to explore. Well, it's pretty true, except for imaginative individuals like the crew from Sweden’s Gray Design, which also penned the Saab supercar.

Enter the world of the Strand Craft Limousine Beach Cruiser, a vehicle that looks like a crossover between a limousine, a convertible and a yacht – yes, you read correctly, a yacht. Essentially a beach shuttle, the Stand Craft has been conceived for luxury hotel chains willing to offer their clients premium service. More specifically, to carry six passengers from the hotel to the nearest beach as fast and as comfortable as possible.

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China’s Pang Da Places a New €15 Million Order for Saab Vehicles

Chinese distributor Pang Da Automobile is pumping more cash into Spyker NV's ailing Swedish unit Saab by placing a new order for 630 vehicles valued at €15 million or US$21.5 million. This latest order comes after an earlier one last week for 1,300 cars worth €30 million (US$43.2 million) and is part of a broader deal in which Pang Da agreed to buy a 24 percent stake in Saab’s parent company Spyker for €65 million (US$93.5 million).

The Swedish automaker said that as with the first order, Pang Da will pay the additional €15 million order up front with the funds expected to be received by the end of this week. Delivery of the vehicles ordered by Pang Da will start in the fall of this year.

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Saab Returns from the Dead…Again, Restarts Production at its Trollhättan Factory

Saab is back in the business of making cars again -at least for now- almost two months after production came to a halt on April 6 when the company’s suppliers stopped deliveries of parts in protest over unpaid bills. The Swedish company was able to restart production after receiving €30 million (US$42.8 million) in advance on a deal it has signed with Chinese car distributor Pang Da Automobile.

The China company’s CEO, Mr. Pang Qinghua, visited the Trollhättan factory today together with CEO and Chairman of Saab Automobile, Victor Muller, and witnessed the first vehicle to roll off the assembly line. Saab said around 100 cars were built today but plans to “increase the daily production rate in the coming weeks in parallel with the full re-establishment of the supply chain”.

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What Lies Ahead in Saab’s Future?

Saab is in trouble. With mounting debts and limited capital investment, the Swedish company is a prime candidate to go the way of the dinosaurs. The troubled automaker has not built a single vehicle since the 1st of April, and a much touted deal with China’s Hawtai Motor Group has fallen through. They did however sign a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with another Chinese company called Pang Da Automobile Trade Co. Ltd, earlier this week, but we will have to wait and see if the deal goes through.

In light of this, I’ve thought up four plausible (though unlikely) scenarios for Saab. These range from the hugely cynical all the way to the brazenly optimistic. After all, isn’t it better than Saab has some future rather than no future at all? Without further ado, here are your options:

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Saab Eyes Another Chinese Savior, Signs MoU with Pang Da Automobile Trade Co.

For the second time this month, and shortly after the break up in talks with the Hawtai Motor Group, Saab’s parent company Spyker Cars N.V. today announced that it has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with a new Chinese company to provide fresh funds for the deeply troubled Swedish automaker. This time Spyker signed a tentative finance and import deal with Pang Da Automobile Trade Co., Ltd (Pang Da), said to be China’s largest publicly traded automobile distributor with over 1100 dealerships in the country. Read more »

Insane! Swedes Turn a Dodge Viper into the Saab 9-3 SRT10 MegaPower

Proving once again that there is no limit to what one can build when you let your imagination take over, a team of Swedes transformed a Dodge Viper into the menacing Saab 9-3 SRT10 MegaPower you see in these pictures.

It all started when a man bought a wrecked Dodge Viper SRT-10 with the intention of rebuilding it. However, it soon became obvious that task was far more difficult than he originally thought due to the extent of the damages and the lack of parts. It didn’t take long to come up with a fresh idea: strip the Viper’s body clean and use the mechanical hardware and parts of the chassis on a Saab 9-3 Sport Combi.

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