Press release: Saab Automobile and Spyker Enter Into MOU With Pang Da Automobile On Distribution/Manufacturing Partnership For China And Equity Participation

Trollhättan, Sweden – Spyker Cars N.V. (Spyker) announces today that Spyker and Saab Automobile AB (Saab Automobile) signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Pang Da Automobile Trade Co., Ltd (Pang Da), China’s largest publicly traded automobile distributor with over 1100 dealerships nationwide. The MoU includes a strategic alliance consisting of a 50/50 distribution joint venture and a manufacturing joint venture (MJV) for Saab branded vehicles as well as for an MJV-owned brand (the so-called ‘child brand’) in China. Saab Automobile will have up to 50 percent in the MJV, with Pang Da and a to-be-selected manufacturing partner owning the remaining shares.

Pang Da shall make a EUR 30 million payment for the purchase of Saab vehicles and is expected to make an additional EUR 15 million for the purchase of more Saab vehicles within 30 days subject to certain circumstances. Additionally, Pang Da will take an equity stake in Spyker for a total amount of EUR 65 million at EUR 4.19 per share (the weighted average of the ten last trading days), representing 24 percent of Spyker on a fully diluted basis, and will have the right to nominate a member of the Supervisory Board of Spyker and /or the Board of Saab Automobile.

  • Spyker, Saab Automobile and Pang Da signed an MoU on the formation of a joint ventures with respect to distribution and manufacturing in the Greater China market, subject to definitive transaction documentation and certain regulatory approvals.
  • Pursuant to the MoU, Pang Da will transfer EUR 30 million to Saab Automobile as payment for the purchase of Saab vehicles and an additional EUR 15 million within 30 days for the purchase of additional vehicles depending on certain circumstances.
  • Pang Da will take an equity participation in Spyker for a total amount of EUR 65 million at EUR 4.19 per share representing up to 24 percent of Spyker’s outstanding share capital on a fully diluted basis.

The MoU between Spyker, Saab Automobile and Pang Da contains the principles on which the parties will establish a 50/50 joint venture for the distribution of Saab-branded vehicles in China.

Continue reading Press release: Saab Automobile and Spyker Enter Into MOU With Pang Da Automobile On Distribution/Manufacturing Partnership For China And Equity Participation

2011 Mille Miglia complete – all three Saabs finish the journey

Peter Backstrom, the director of the Saab Museum here in Trollhattan, oversaw the engine builds for the three Saab 93A’s competing in the 2011 Mille Miglia. Those engines were built not to be outstandingly fast, but to be very, very reliable (whilst still being quite quick for such a small engine).

That strategy has worked for the second consecutive year, with all three cars in the 2011 Mille Miglia finishing the event in fine style.

Brescia, Italy: The 2011 Mille Miglia contest ended on a high Saturday night, as all three competing Saab 93s safely returned to the enthusiastic crowds in Brescia. The number 332 car, piloted by Spyker Cars Chairman Hans Hugenholtz and his wife Laurence, was the first Saab car to finish the third and final leg of the 2011 event. Earlier on Saturday, the classic Saabs had departed from the Castel Sant’Angelo in Rome, after which they made their way back to Brescia over a course that brought them past Viterbo, Siena, Florence and other highlights of the Italian landscape.

Here are some more photos from the final day. Click to enlarge. We’ll get more information and stories from the guys as they come back into Trollhattan and regain their senses after a hectic week’s driving.

Congratulations to all three teams on the successful completion of the event. I can’t wait to see the full set of photos and video.

Coming soon!

Mille Miglia photo and video update

News from the Mille Miglia has been difficult to come by as we only have a very small team in Italy for the event and they’re almost all involved in either competition or support. It doesn’t help that I’ve been flying between Australia and Sweden for the last few days. We will get a more complete story in the coming hours, however.

Until then, here are some photos from Day 2 of this beautiful event through the Itlian countryside.

Click to enlarge.

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We’re also thankful to the Saabway Club, from Italy, who had members present to shoot a fantastic video of all three Saabs at the beginning of the event….

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Saab photo update from 2011 Mille Miglia

I don’t have any details or stories to share, but it certainly looks like the team at Mille Miglia is having a good time. The cars and the scenery both look breathtaking.

The following photos just arrived in my inbox, directly from Italy…..

Peter Backstrom (left) and Mats Fagerhag talk to the crowd. Mats is driving the Saab 93A that Peter helped to prepare for the event.

Mats Fagerhag looking cool in the Italian sunshine….

The Saab 93A being driven by Hans Hugenholz along with a Saab 9-3 Independence Edition Convertible…..

The Mille Miglia entry from Behermans in Belgium, with the Saab Museum entry in the background…..

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Remember to keep checking in with SofieFromSaab on Twitter. She’s posting live occasional updates along with images from the 2011 Mille Miglia.

We’ll have full coverage of the event after it’s completion on the weekend.

Saab Up!!!

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Saabosphere – links we enjoyed this week

Let’s be honest. It’s a tough week to be writing about enjoyable links. But there are some good stories out there, so let’s take a look at them before I head off to the airport to return back to Saab HQ in Trollhattan.

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Mille Miglia is on right now and there are three Saab 93A’s entered in the event. You can view photos and commentary about the restoration of one of those cars right here at Inside Saab.

We’ll have a full review of the event when it’s over and done, but if you want some real-time updates on what’s happening there, the best place to go is SofieFromSaab’s Twitter page.

Sofie works for Saab in Belgium and she’s there covering the Mille car that’s been prepared and entered in the event by Behermans, the Belgian Saab importer.

From Sofie’s account, here’s Saab’s Technical Director, Mats Fagerhag, taking the Saab 93A prepared by the Saab Museum in Trollhattan (see link above) back to the Mille Miglia museum as part of the event.

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Saab appointed a new President and COO for Saab Cars North America, a guy formerly from Subaru, named Tim Colbeck.

Tim’s first day on the job took him to the Saab 9-4x press drive in Washington DC and while he was there, Autoblog conducted a brief interview with him for an article that now appears on their website.

It makes for some good, insightful reading and I’m very encouraged by Mr Colbeck’s background and knowledge not only of Saab, but of Saab’s market as well.

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A few articles from today’s issue of Saabs United:

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I look forward to getting back Trollywood. See you all there soon.

Spyker and Hawtai Motor Group continue discussions about funding and strategic partnership yet earlier agreement terminated

Zeewolde, The Netherlands, 12 May 2011 – Spyker Cars N.V. (Spyker) announces today that Hawtai Motor Group Company Limited (Hawtai) and Spyker terminated the agreement by and between Hawtai, Spyker and Saab Automobile AB (Saab Automobile) with respect to funding and strategic partnership. However, discussions are ongoing.

As a result of this termination, Saab Automobile may enter into a strategic partnership with Hawtai or another Chinese party on manufacturing, technology and distribution in China. As indicated in the press release of 3 May 2011, the transaction with Hawtai was subject to definitive transaction documentation and certain conditions, which included the consent of different stakeholders. Since it became clear that Hawtai was not able to obtain all the necessary consents, the parties were forced to terminate the agreement with Saab Automobile and Spyker with immediate effect. The parties will continue their discussions about a possible cooperation, however now on a non-exclusive basis.

Spyker and Saab Automobile continue to work on securing short and medium term funding. To that end Spyker and Saab Automobile are negotiating equity and debt financing and/or technology licensing with various (strategic) Chinese partners.

BAIC indicated that it does not have any problems with Saab’s ongoing discussions with other Chinese partners.

Discussions continue with the European Investment Bank (EIB) on completion of the current EUR 29 million drawdown under the EIB loan facility, on obtaining EIB consent for the sale of Saab property released under the collateral of the Swedish National Debt Office (NDO) and on various conditions proposed by the EIB. As soon as the EIB drawdown or other equivalent funding is confirmed, Saab Automobile plans to restart production depending on the outcome of discussions with its suppliers on terms to resume supplies of materials and services to Saab Automobile.

On living in Sweden when you’re not Swedish

A few people have asked me what it’s like to move from Australia to Sweden to do this job for Saab Automobile. The obvious answer for a Saab nut like me is that it’s a dream come true! The more considered answer, however, is that there’s a lot of things to adjust to and a lot of local ‘stuff’ to get your head around.

For example, what do you do when you get on a bus for the first time only to find out they don’t sell tickets on the bus? Get off and walk?

Continue reading On living in Sweden when you’re not Swedish

Winding Road drive the Saab 9-4x

We’ve been waiting for the Saab 9-4x road test to come in and now, Winding Road has come to the party with the type of review we always thought the 9-4x would be capable of achieving.

I’ve been writing about Saab for around six years now and one of the common complaints I’ve had about automotive journalists is that they don’t “get it” when it comes to Saab. Too many write from a cookie-cutter viewpoint, a perspective that is commonplace, but one that Saab just doesn’t fit.

Winding Road doesn’t just “get it” in this review, they take steps to show you why they “get it” and how you can “get it” too.

The entire first half of the review deals with Saab’s brand positioning. Why are Saabs different? What sort of customer do they attract and how can they be so bold as to position themselves against Audi, Mercedes and BMW?

We are different here at Saab. It’s true. A Saab fits you like no other car IF you’re of a particular mindset. It’s like you’ve found an automotive soulmate and can take a rest from the posturing and just relax, enjoy your natural excitement and the fact that yes, you do have some sort of symbiotic relationship with a car. It’s a little strange, but true.

Anyway, Winding Road spend some time on Saab’s attributes and the way they compare to other brands in Saab’s market segment. It really does go some way to explaining the Saab appeal to readers who might not already understand it.

If you really look at the chart and think about it, Saab stands out from BMW, Mercedes, Volvo and Lexus pretty well. Saab stands out against these brands because of what a Saab isn’t. A Saab isn’t a BMW, Mercedes or Lexus with their social-climber attributes and it isn’t a boring luxury car, like a Volvo, Mercedes or Lexus. Those at least are the views of the Saab buyer.

After examining the Saab ethos, Winding Road take a good look over the Saab 9-4x – and the good news for Saab fans continues.

If I had a single fear about reading Saab 9-4x reviews, it was that the review would include a whole bunch of comparative references to the Cadillac SRX (both vehicles were developed at the same time, with Saab’s Peter Dörrich as head of the project). Not so. In fact, the 9-4x shines purely because its own attributes.

Here are some excerpts:

We don’t know if Saab will be able to impress people in the showroom, but the 9-4X, at least in the Aero trim we drove, is certainly good enough to pull it off on the right test drive….

….and….

…..For those paying attention, the driving dynamics of the 9-4X are positively brilliant. The 9-4X has a smoothness and stability going down the road that buyers will find hard to beat. The genius here is that Saab does smoothness not by giving the driver a flaccid, mushy chassis, but by using a very stiff body structure and a carefully designed suspension…..

This is one that I really like….

….The brakes a firm, with a pedal feel that should be studied by some sports car makers.

…not enough people appreciate the importance of a sorted braking system. Kudos.

I could include so much more of this review from Winding Road, but they’d end up suing me for breach of copyright.

The best thing you can do is read the Winding Road Saab 9-4x review for yourself.

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Video: Saab 9-3 Griffin

The Saab 9-3 Griffin is the latest iteration of the Saab 9-3 range and offers fantastic performance and value.

The Griffin range has four models – SportSedan, SportCombi, Convertible and 9-3x – and most body styles are available in both FWD and XWD. There’s also a huge engine range, including BioPower, low-emissions TTiD and Turbo4 models (depending on market).

New to the Saab 9-3 Griffin is the 2.0 Turbo4 from the Saab 9-5, a direct injection turbocharged engine that brings great responsiveness and sparkling performance with up to 220hp. Of course, there is also Saab’s low-emissions TTiD range of engines, offering 130, 160 or 180hp, with all three variants emitting less than 120g of CO2 per km (manual), attracting great tax benefits in certain European markets.

The car has also received a fresher look, inside and out, with new front bumper design, headlamps, new badging all round, as well as new leather and trim options inside.

Check out the Saab 9-3 Griffin at Saab.com or check your local national Saab website for market-specific information.

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Video: 2011 Mille Miglia teaser

We take this opportunity to wish the best to the three Saab entrants in the 2011 Mille Miglia historic rally in Italy:

  • Mats Fägerhag, Saab Automobile’s Vice President Vehicle Product Development, with Peter Bäckström, Director of the Saab Museum
  • Hans Hugenholtz, Chairman of Saab Automobile owner Spyker Cars N.V., and his wife Laurence.
  • Jacques Beherman, importer of Saab cars into Belgium, and Umberto Stefani, head of Saab in Belgium.

Here’s a little teaser as to what they’ll be up to starting very, very soon…..

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