If all goes as plan, Saab will soon be the beneficiary of $181 million dollars US, after a sales goes through to Zheijang Youngman, Lotus Automobile, and Pang Da Automobile Trade Co. However, Saab still owes over $188 million US to their creditors. According to Bloomberg, Swedish Automobile could be forced to liquidate.

Saab still has money to make, with many dealerships across the US and Canada in business. Saab is also waiting on funds from the sale of company shares to Spyker.

“Private equity of firm North Street Capital LP has made an agreement to purchase Spyker for 32 million euros, which is translated into 42 million U.S. dollars,” according to Bloomberg and Automotive Discovery.

Saab is not out of the fire yet.

Source: Automotive Discovery

Alas, production started again Friday, where an initial batch of 100 cars will roll off the line. By Monday, production will be back to 218 vehicles a day. On hand at the restart event were Victor Muller, CEO of Saab, as well as Mr. Pang Qinghua, Chairman and CEO of Pang Da Automobile, the Chinese distributor that has invested in Spyker Cars.

According to World Car Fans: “The deal brought Saab a much needed €30 million in cash up front, in exchange for 1,300 vehicles for a Chinese automaker to distribute in China. That firm, Pang Da Automobile,would receive a 24 percent stake in Dutch-based Spyker Cars and an additional batch of Saab vehicles to distribute in China should the €110 million deal be approved by various government parties.”

“This is a great day for our company and it is great to see the plant running again. We have gone through a rough patch in recent weeks, but Saab is back in action again,” added Muller.

The announcement came with Spyker’s annual report. They’ve suffered a significant financial loss in 2010. Operating losses were experienced by both the Saab and Spyker; the company spent considerable money taking over Saab production from General Motors. Financial losses for the year were anticipated in Spyker’s business plan, but as they’ve stated, “the actual cash need was higher than planned.”

March sales of Saab automobiles reached 888 units in Sweden, 830 in the United States. Both are significant increases from 2010.

But that couldn’t stop Saab from being forced to shut down production on three separate occasions, when key suppliers and carriers held back deliveries cause of non-payment.

This particular crisis seems to have blown over. Deals were reached with all the vendors in question.

“A controversial but wealthy suitor is indeed in the wings for Spyker and Saab,” according to Automotive News. “Russian banker Vladimir Antonov, who helped Spyker finance the deal to buy Saab from GM before being squeezed out for ties to organized crime, is said to be a willing investor. Antonov insists that he has no ties to organized crime, and is being vetted by Sweden’s Debt Office, who has a say in any ownership changes at Spyker.”

Good luck, dear Saab, we’d hate to lose you after so many struggles.

Via The Car Connection

“In an interview with Sweden’s Dagens Industri, would-be Russian investor Vladimir Antonov stated he doesn’t believe Saab will reach their goal of selling 80,000 cars in 2011. He added this would cause problems with the European Investment Bank which could result in Saab being declared bankrupt within five days after the loan is due. Furthermore, Antonov said the company likely needs €1 billion to stay afloat and he is willing to invest half that amount.

While nothing is official, Saab’s financial situation could explain Spyker’s recent decision to sell their supercar division to CPP Global Holdings. Of course, this could also be chalked up to an overzealous investor who’s peeved that his alleged ties to organized crime deep-sixed his original attempts to back Saab.“

Despite the company selling just under 31,700 Saab cars globally in 2010, it reported a 129 per cent jump in figures between September and December; 11,448 cars were sold in this period, a 31 per cent jump on the previous quarter.

At the beginning of 2010, Spyker had to slash Saab’s sales target of 45,000 cars because it had to rebuild its supplier base after the unit was bought by Spyker from GM in February. This caused a severe production disruption, but Saab sales did, nonetheless, see a progressive sales hike in key markets.

According to a statement by Saab CEO Jan Ake Jonsson: “I am confident that we can keep up the current sales momentum as we continue to enhance our offering with the biggest ever product offensive in Saab’s history.”

The company will continue to expand its distribution network in China and Russia and expects rising sales figures in 2011 thanks to its entry into markets such as Japan, Canada, Portugal and Australia last year.

The new TTiD 1.9 diesel, another option of UK and possibly US buyers, brings in a total of 180 horsepower and lowers fuel consumption.

Other trim levels bring in newer alternatives in horsepower – 130 and 160 hp respectively, which gives values of consumption and emissions same as top diesel. Gas and diesel range will be assisted by a new automatic transmission with six cylinders.

Let’s not forget the new Saab 9-5, which receives an updated engine. The automaker, which was recently bought by Spyker, will introduce two new versions of the current 9-5 this fall – a gas and diesel counterpart. The diesel sedan gets a 2.0 TTiD powerplant with190 hp. The gas version gets a 1.6T with 180 hp. Diesel Saab can hit up to 60 mph in less than nine seconds.

With the new engines, Saab 9-5 offers customers a more generous color palette with 11 shades, as well as Adaptive Cruise Control.

Source

Now that Saab is owned by the Swiss, fully again, the construction of their smaller 9-2 sedan/hatchback will (hopefully) commence.

In an interview with MotorTrend, Spyker Saab CEO Victor Muller revealed a design proposal for the upcoming model. While Muller wouldn’t officially release the image, the car has styling cues from several vintage Saabs (the 92, the 93, and the 96). It has a rakish roofline, which would likely limit rear passenger headroom, and a modern front-end. As MT’s Todd Lassa explains, “it’s a polarizing design – you will love it if you’re a Saabanista.”

Despite being a design proposal, Muller says 9-2 “is my priority, Saab’s top priority.” Unfortunately, the model is still in limbo until Saab’s finances turn around. To go it into production, Saab will “need to find separate financing, or (we have to) perform so well, we can do it out of our own means. … Or find a partner who we can share a platform with, who has deeper pockets, so we can share it on their balance sheet.”

-Source: WCF

With Spyker now taking over Saab and continuing production we have to wonder if Saab’s look will ever remain the same. Ok, chances of the overall design and performance change drastically are slim to none. But with a design firm like GrayDesign to invent a few creative concepts it will at least keep this Saab rebirth interesting.

First off we have a “retro teardrop” modeled after a classic Saab 96, the car that replaced the 93. It was produced from 1960-1980 and equipped first with an 841cc two-stroke inline-three and later a 1498 or 1700cc four-stroke V4. Its most famous design feature are the rounded-off square fender front fender flares that you can see so dramatically re-interpreted on this concept design.

Another GrayDesign concept shows a Saab “supercar” and is the work of Trolhattan-dwelling designer Eduard Gray. “He envisions a vehicle sitting on one of Spyker’s mid-engined platforms, then skinned in the clean surfaces and hockey stick roofline that define the Saab brand.” Both look really interesting, and are true concepts because, well, we’ll probably not ever see anything like these in a dealership lot.

Sources: Jalopnik | GrayDesign

Going forward, Saab and Spyker will operate under the Spyker (AMS:SPYKR) umbrella, and Spyker will assume responsibility for Saab operations. The previously announced wind down of Saab operations has ended.

“This transaction represents the successful outcome of months of hard work and intense negotiations, all aimed at securing a sustainable future for this unique brand, and we are pleased with the positive outcome,” said John Smith, GM vice president for corporate planning and alliances. “This is a great day for Saab employees, dealers and suppliers, and a great day for millions of Saab customers and fans worldwide.”

“Throughout negotiations over the past year, GM has worked with many parties, including governments and investors, to find a solution for Saab,” said Nick Reilly, president, GM Europe. “I’m very pleased that we could come to a positive conclusion, one that presents a viable future for Saab and preserves jobs in Sweden and elsewhere.”

Via GM Press Release

It’s been many, many…MANY months since Spyker, a small Dutch sports car producer, began talks with General Motors to purchase what was left of Sweden’s Saab.

Well now the make has been saved at the zero hour! New York Times reports:

“General Motors said Tuesday that it had reached an agreement to sell its Swedish unit Saab to Spyker Cars, a tiny Dutch maker of high-end sports cars, saving Saab from what seemed like certain extinction after earlier bids had collapsed, The New York Times’s Nelson Schwartz reports.

G.M. had begun the process of shuttering Saab’s production line and other facilities in Trolltattan, Sweden, at the beginning of the year, but the deal with Spyker will halt that process and buy time for Saab to begin rolling out new cars.

“General Motors, Spyker Cars and the Swedish government worked very hard and creatively for a deal that would secure a sustainable future for this unique and iconic brand,” John Smith, G.M.’s vice president for corporate planning and alliances, said in a statement.

Spyker intends to form a new company, Saab Spyker Automobiles. The transaction is expected to close in mid-February.

The announced deal is the latest turn in a saga that had riveted workers and politicians alike in Sweden, as well as Saab’s famously devoted customer-base.

Still, it will be an uphill battle for Saab to survive over the long-term, auto experts said, noting that just finding a buyer took more than a year for G.M. Amid the uncertainty over the company’s survival, sales plunged 50 percent in the first half of 2009, to 24,000 cars, far too slow a pace for Saab to operate profitably.”