Spyker Wants Saab to Build a Compact Car

Saab’s owner, Dutch sports car maker Spyker Cars, wants the Swedish brand to build a new, small model as iconic as BMW’s Mini. In order to accomplish that, Spyker needs Saab to raise the necessary money and to find a development partner, Spyker chief executive Victor Muller stated.

“It has to be a real Saab,” the official was quoted as saying by just-auto.com. He made clear he would like to expand Saab's line-up into the compact segment, with something smaller than the 9-3. "The Saab 9-2 is clearly on the forefront of our priorities," Muller added. The model would also have to stand out sharply from the other cars in the segment. However, the official emphasized that to build such a car Saab would need substantial new capital and also a partner with whom to design and produce it.

Two months after the Dutch company bought the troubled Swedish brand from General Motors he told Spyker shareholders that production at Saab is on track. Saab Chief Executive Jan Ake Jonsson said at Spyker's annual meeting that the carmaker would achieve its sales target of 50,000 units this year.

In order to meet these goals, Saab would need to increase productivity beyond its original plan. Saab's break even point should be sales of 85,000 cars a year by 2012. Analysts have said the company must sell at least 75,000 cars a year to be cash flow positive. Spyker bought Saab from GM for US$400m in February, setting itself a challenge of turning two loss-making carmakers into one profitable global company.