While awaiting the financial package that would ensure its continued existence, Saab received an infusion of capital that put the Swedish automaker closer to restarting production, which has been idle for nearly four weeks.
Spyker Cars NV, the Dutch company that rescued Saab in January 2010 out of liquidation by General Motors, announced Monday that it secured a loan from Gemini, an investment fund, worth 30 million euros, or about $44 million. Later in the day, brand representatives announced they expected to sign a strategic partnership with the Hawtai Motor Group, a Chinese passenger-car brand, on Wednesday, reported The New York Times.
“I would like to apologize to our dedicated employees, suppliers, dealers and customers for the disruptions of the past weeks,” said Victor Muller, the Saab chairman, in a statement on Monday. “We will do everything in our power to restore the confidence in our company as soon as practically possible.”
According to a report by Automotive News Europe, a further 29.1 million euros are needed for Saab to restart production. Those funds are being sought from the European Investment Bank.
Last week, Mr. Muller reportedly held meetings with three Chinese passenger-car brands: Great Wall Motor, China Youngman Automobile Group and Jiangsu Yueda Group.
However, on Monday afternoon, Saab representatives announced that the brand would hold a joint news conference on Wednesday with the Hawtai Motor Group to announce a strategic partnership. The nature of the agreement has not been announced.
During an interview at the New York auto show last month, Mr. Muller said that Saab was poised to make a sales impact, particularly in the United States, once it received the requisite liquidity. For now, production of new models like its 9-4 crossover and 9-5 SportCombi remains in limbo.
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