Saab is one such company, and the new piece of info we are bringing you is that the life-saving deal with Chinese manufacturer Hawtai has collapsed, leaving the Swedish brand’s plans to develop a crucial new platform hanging.
Last week, the Swedish carmaker’s Dutch owner (Spyker) announced it had managed to secure a €120 million investment deal with Hawtai. The money was needed in order to develop the new Phoenix platform, which would have supported a number of new models, starting with the next 9-3. It’s not very clear why the Chinese company wanted a piece of the crumbling Saab cookie, but it could be possible that it wanted to sell its Chinese-assembled cars in Europe through the Swedish company’s sales network.
Saab is in a real pinch now, because, in a bid to get the reduction line in Trolhattan moving again, it had agreed to sell off its factory assets and lease them back.
However, yesterday evening Spyker issued a statement saying that the deal with Hawtai - in which the Chinese firm would own a stake of around 29.9 per cent in Spyker - had been “terminated”. The deal fell through “when it became clear that Hawtai was not able to obtain all the necessary consents (from stakeholders)”. Discussions will continue with the Chinese firm, but it will no longer be on an exclusive basis.
Talks with the European Investment Bank will continue, but production will not resume until an agreement with the bank is reached, “or other equivalent funding is confirmed”.
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