Swedish exotic-carmaker Koenigsegg to buy Saab

Mainstream cars don’t get much nichier than Saab. Now the brand may become even more of a niche player as General Motors has announced it will sell its Swedish subsidiary to Swedish exotic-carmaker Koenigsegg.

Koenigsegg, with a staff of 45, builds $1 million super-cars with a claimed top speed of 245 mph. Last year it sold 18 of them. Saab sells upscale sedans and a rebadged GM SUV. Last year it lost more than $380 million selling only 90,000 vehicles worldwide. Tiny Koenigsegg will borrow $600 million from the European Investment Bank to continue Saab operations.

It plans to continue rolling out new models that GM has in development, including pending redesigns of the aging 9-3, and outdated 9-5, as well as a new 9-4X small, upscale SUV.

Saab was the last of the brands GM announced it would sell or close down to find a buyer. Hummer is being sold to Chinese heavy-equipment manufacturer Tengzhong; Saturn is being sold to the Penske Automotive Group, which owns dealerships around the United States, and Pontiac is being closed down.

GM, which has owned Saab since 2000 and been a part owner since 1990, tried to popularize the cars and bring them into the mainstream, as well as reduce manufacturing costs. But in the process, Saabs lost much of the uniqueness that made them interesting. 

For Saab fans, the brand’s return to Swedish ownership and its presumed retreat from the mass market will likely be good news. We just hope they succeed in making good cars and keeping them more up-to-date than recent Saabs have been.

—Eric Evarts

Comments

[Ted]

Halleluyah...

Saab will be Saab once again
The nightmare is over!(GM)