If you haven’t heard already, our application for reorganisation has been denied by the district court in Vanersborg.
This has just happened, 20 minutes ago, so I can’t provide any reaction as yet, nor forecast any future happenings.
We’ll keep you posted.
For those who are relying on news reports as to what happened yesterday, you can see the full press conference plus questions for yourselves in the video, below.
Provided by Swedish Television.
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Saab Automobile lodged an application for reorganisation today. A decision on this application is still pending as I write this. If granted, the reorganisation process will allow us court protection from creditors’ actions whilst we continue making the financial arrangements we need to carry us into our long-term deals with partners from China.
As you might imagine, it was a pretty busy day here today. I am preparing some text on the reorganisation process, some plain-speak on what it will mean for Saab and our stakeholders, but that will have to wait until the court’s decision is announced.
For now, I thought you might be interested in a first-hand view of some of the things that happened here today.
We started the day with a meeting around 9am to take the marketing, sales and aftersales teams through the press release and associated points about the actions taken today. The meeting was led by Matthias Siedl and Knut Simonsson, our global sales and marketing chiefs.
Following this, there was a presentation by Victor Muller to the full workforce at Saab inside the factory in Trollhattan.
Victor spoke about all manner of things regarding the current situation and introduced Mr Guy Lofalk, the administrator nominated by Saab to take charge of the reorganisation process. Mr Lofalk also oversaw the previous reorganisation when Saab was owned by General Motors in 2009.
Victor Muller explained the road that Saab had taken over the last few months and included his personal apologies for the current delays in wage/salary payments, explaining that the filing today would help staff to get paid sooner, whilst providing a more stable and certain environment for Saab to pursue their funding requirements.
Staff were offered the opportunity to ask questions a small number of them took this opportunity before the meeting dispersed.
L to R: Guy Lofalk, Kristina Geers and Victor Muller
Saab expected a decision from the court in Vanersborg at 2pm, however the decision has been delayed and is now expected at 2pm Thursday. A press conference scheduled for 2:30pm still went ahead and was well attended. You can see a recording of the press conference, recorded by Saabs United here.
Victor Muller spoke to the gathered press as a group before taking questions, and then stopping for individual interviews.
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As mentioned earlier, I’ll have a few more thoughts to share on the reorganisation meaning and implications but that will have to wait until we have received a decision from the court, due around 2pm tomorrow, Swedish time.
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The following is a release from Swedish Automobile:
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7 September 2011
Saab Automobile AB Files For Voluntary Reorganization, Saab Automobile Parts AB And Overseas Subsidiaries Excluded
Trollhättan, Sweden: Swedish Automobile N.V. (Swan) announces that Saab Automobile AB and its subsidiaries Saab Automobile Powertrain AB and Saab Automobile Tools AB (collectively Saab Automobile) will file for voluntary reorganization today at 09:00 CET with the District Court in Vänersborg, Sweden. Swan and Saab Automobile are of the opinion that, considering Saab Automobile’s current limited financial resources, a voluntary reorganization will entail the best preconditions for using existing resources in the most efficient way. The eventual purpose of the proposed voluntary reorganization process is to secure short-term stability while simultaneously attracting additional funding, pending the inflow of the equity contributions of Pang Da and Youngman.
The proposed voluntary reorganization will be a self-managed, legal process under Swedish law headed by an independent administrator appointed by the court who will work closely with the Saab Automobile management team. As part of the process, Saab Automobile has formulated a reorganization plan, which includes a number of aspects aimed at lowering its cost-base and creating a viable, competitive and independent organization. This reorganization plan will be presented to creditors in more detail within three weeks of the filing, although this period could be extended by the court.
Following court approval, the voluntary reorganization will be executed over an initial period of three months. If required, the reorganization period can be extended by another three months, up to a maximum of twelve months. Swan and Saab Automobile are confident that they will secure additional short-term funding for the reorganization period and are currently in negotiations with several parties about obtaining such funding. Funding for Saab Automobile to exit reorganization has been secured through binding agreements with Pang Da and Youngman as announced on July 4, which agreements are, however, subject to obtaining certain approvals.
As part of the reorganization filing, the court-appointed administrator will apply for the Swedish state’s wage guarantee scheme to allow wage payments to all Saab Automobile employees to be made. August salaries are expected to be paid within a short time frame following the court approval. With regards to outstanding debts to creditors, Saab Automobile will seek the support of its creditors for the reorganization process and is confident it will obtain this support, particularly because Saab Automobile aims at full redemption of outstanding debts.
Saab Automobile has proposed that the District Court appoints Swedish lawyer Guy Lofalk as administrator, who also was the administrator in the successful 2009 Saab Automobile reorganization. Victor Muller, CEO of Swan and CEO and Chairman of Saab Automobile, and the Saab Automobile management team will cooperate closely with the administrator to execute the reorganization plan. The voluntary reorganization process will cover Saab Automobile AB, Saab Automobile Powertrain AB and Saab Tools AB. All other entities, including Saab Parts AB and all overseas entities such as Saab Great Britain and Saab Cars North America, are excluded from the reorganization.
The reorganization plan contains a blueprint of how Saab Automobile’s Management expects to improve Saab Automobile’s business model with an emphasis on an independent, lean and competitive organization. Many key elements of Saab Automobile’s original business plan remain, as Management believes the objectives of the overall strategy remain intact. Through the roll-out of a fully rejuvenated product portfolio, partnerships with Chinese firms Pang Da and Youngman that will ensure access to the world’s largest and fastest growing market, and a strong and global brand, Saab Automobile is well-positioned to realize its objective of becoming a viable independent premium car manufacturer.
Victor Muller, CEO of Swan and CEO and Chairman of Saab Automobile, said: “Since securing the long-term funding through conditional agreements with Pang Da and Youngman, who both support this voluntary reorganization, we have focused on securing funding to bridge the period until we receive their funds. We have concluded that a voluntary reorganization process will provide us with the necessary time, protection and stabilization of the business, allowing salary payments to be made, short-term funding to be obtained and an orderly restart of production to be prepared.”
“While the voluntary reorganization process will no doubt present us with a number of tough issues and decisions, I believe that Saab Automobile will emerge stronger from this process. The potential for Saab Automobile as a viable, independent premium car manufacturer is there, as shown by the rejuvenation of our product portfolio, approximately 11,000 orders and the conditional long-term funding already in place through the binding agreements with Pang Da and Youngman that will give us access to the Chinese market.”
“I would also like to express my deep gratitude to our employees, dealers, suppliers and all other stakeholders who have been so patient and understanding in the past trying months. I realize that we have severely tested their patience, but it has been heartening to see that in general, our employees, dealers, suppliers and other stakeholders have stood by us through this tough period. I look forward to continuing these relationships and collectively start building a brighter future for Saab Automobile.”
We have a little database here and I was able to get a few numbers out of it (OK, not me, but someone who was very kind and helpful). I thought those numbers might be interesting for a few people to look at.
These are production numbers from 1950 up until the end of 2010. They include Saabs built outside of Trollhattan, as well as vehicles built in Trollhattan that didn’t wear a Saab badge (hello, Cadillac BLS). There are some test vehicles included here as well, which are earlier than some might expect.
| CAR | MOTOR OUTPUT (kW) | TORQUE (lb ft) | BATTERY | CHARGE TIME (hrs) | RANGE (miles) | SEATS | PRICE |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Honda Fit EV | 92 | 189 | Li-Ion (20kWh) | 3 | 82 | 5 | $37,415 |
| Commuter Cars Tango T600 | 600 | 3000 | LiFe PO4 | ?? | 120 | 2 | $200,000 |
| CODA | 100 | 221 | LiFe PO4 (31kWh) | 6 | 125 | 5 | $37,250 |
| Ford Focus Electric | 107 | 181 | Li-Ion (23kWh) | 4 | 76 | 5 | $39,200 |
| Mitsubishi i-MiEV | 49 | 145 | Li-Ion | 7 | 62 | 4 | $31,125 |
| Nissan Leaf | 80 | 207 | Li-Ion (24kWh) | 7 | 73 | 5 | $37,250 |
| Smart ED (1) | 55 | ?? | Li-Ion (17.6kWh) | 7 | 80 | 2 | $25,000 |
| Tesla Model S (performance) (2) | 310 | 443 | Li-Ion (85kWh) | 6 | 300 | 5 | $92,500 |
| Toyota Rav4 EV | 129 | 273 | Li-Ion | 5 | 103 | 5 | $49,800 |
| Wheego LiFe (3) | 45 | 95 | LiFe PO4 | 5 | 100 | 2 | $32,995 |
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For those of you who like this sort of thing, I’ll try and dig into some of these numbers in a little more detail for the future. The amount of granularity is not quite what you might expect as a consumer because it’s written from a factory point of view (i.e. looking for Viggen numbers isn’t as simple as looking for something that says ‘Viggen’, it means a 9-3 between certain years with a 2.3T engine).
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These are the first images that have come through to me from Swedish Car Day 2011, hosted by Charles River Saab in Boston, MA.
I was so sad to miss this event and I’m really pleased to see that it went ahead after Hurricane Irene stopped the event being held on it’s intended date a week earlier.
My thanks to Mark S for sending these in. It looks like another fantastic collection of vehicles right from the 96s and Sonetts of yesteryear through to today’s Saab 9-4x.
Click to enlarge.
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I wrote about Bertil’s experience at Bonneville Speed Week last week. Bertil set a new record in the J-PRO class in his two-stroke Saab 96. Bertil wasn’t the only person running a Saab at Bonneville this year. He wasn’t the only guy to set a new land speed record in a Saab, either.
Tom Donney was there, too, with his two-stroke Saab Sonett II. Tom’s name will be familiar to many. He’s collected classic Saabs for years and runs a specialist transmission workshop and vehicle sales operation from his base in Fort Dodge, Iowa. And if you’re good with names, you might remember that Jay Leno bought the Saab 92 in his famed car collection from a guy named Tom Donney. Yeah, same guy.
Tom caught the Bonneville Bug last year, when he went to speed week as an observer and saw a number of Saabs on the salt. Tired of some frustrating outcomes in dirt racing, Tom and his team figured it was time to get their name in the record books. I can highly recommend you read Tom’s 2010 Bonneville background piece, before proceeding on to this year’s run, below.
Tom’s Sonett was running in the J-GT class. Here’s his story, in his own words and pictures.
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Bonneville 2011
Our team – myself, Steve Davis and Verlyn Gregerson – set out to break a old records set by Dick Cartron and his team in 1963 & 1964…..and to establish a new Land Speed Record in a two stroke Saab….. Dick set a personal best time of 103.560mph in 1963, and a Land Speed Record 105.453mph in 1964.
We made two runs Sunday late afternoon that were about 95+ MPH and from there we started to dial in our Saab two stroke.
The current, 2011 Land Speed Record we were chasing was 96.683mph and was bumped to 96.877 on Sunday by a 1959 Deutsch Bonnet named Bone Evil! with a 2 cylinder 750cc motor
We met the owner, Mark Brinker and his crew and we all decided….NOW WE HAVE A RACE! They were a good team from Houston Texas.
On our first run Monday morning we ran a blistering 100.458mph which surpassed the old record of 96.683mph, which landed us with a date with History the next morning for our second “backup” run. At Bonneville you must run “down and back”, on two separate days, then if your average of the two runs exceeds the existing record, you now own a new record.
Right: Tom with the new 98mph record…..
But success never sleeps. We quickly swapped out the cylinder head to an experimental one we made with a much higher compression ratio and pealed off a run of 101.653mph later that morning! Back to impound and a new attempt to “bump” our record on Wednesday am.
Wednesday AM we made so more mods and smoked all the old records by going 109.574,mph for a new land speed record of 105.613mph!
More mods and back on the track…..next run that afternoon gave us a run of 108.671mph! Another recorded beater was in order for Thursday am for our “backup” run.
Right: 109 mph in a two-stroke Sonett…..
We spent the rest of Thursday swapping out playing with a larger “prototype motor” and got up to 112.538mph for a max speed. With that we packed and headed home with our green little Saab and with all the goals we had set out to accomplish.
On a final note, Lots of people came up to me to say they loved the Saab that we had, and Saab as a company, and that they wished Saab well. People always ask me which is the “Best Saab Ever Made”? My answer is always the same…..”the last one off the assembly line!”
Today, as back in 1963 and 1967, Saab makes a great car…..go out and buy one and do what they are meant to do…..BE DRIVEN!”
Thanks for reading…Safe Saab’in,
Tom Donney
How do you make a cinema pop up in the middle of…… anywhere?
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This is the Nomad. A roaming cinema, the first of its type in Great Britain and it’s playing at locations around London and the South East. Thanks to Saab Great Britain, you can enjoy a 2-for-1 ticket offer for selected screenings.
The Nomad driven by Saab is screening a host of guilty pleasure films and cinema classics, all of which can be enjoyed at some unique and unexpected open air settings. Watch films picked from an eclectic selection, against a backdrop of some of the UK’s well loved landmarks and buildings- from beautiful Royal Parks to dramatic castles.
Saab Great Britain partnered with the Nomad some time ago and some Saab owners and fans have already had the chance to enjoy a movie under the stars. We thought the whole concept of seeing a classic film in a unique environment suited the Saab ‘independent thinking’ ethos perfectly and it seems many who’ve had the Nomad experience feel the same:
Watching a film about King George VI at the beautiful Hampton Court Palace, couldn’t think of a more appropriate location to view the film – Tim D.
My boyfriend and I had a fantastic time, it’s the first time I’ve been to an outdoor cinema and the weather and hospitality element made it all the more special. Hope it was a big success for you guys! Thanks, Georgina
If you haven’t enjoyed the Nomad for yourself yet, there’s no need to feel left out. There are still plenty of opportunities left to have the Nomad cinema experience.
The Nomad schedule for September is packed with screenings in beautiful locations around London and Kent. A different film will be shown at each screening.
Films include Amelie, Baz Luhrmann’s Romeo and Juliet, Back To The Future, Mamma Mia, Gosford Park, The Shawshank Redemption and many, many more. The locations include London’s Bushy Park, Queens Park and Fulham Palace and Scotney Castle in Kent. There’s even a screening of Pan’s Labyrinth at Brompton Cemetery – a truly novel place to enjoy a movie with your friends.
You can access all the venue/movie information for the 2-for-1 ticket offers here.
Other related links:
Click the images to enlarge.
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Greetings all. Sorry for the lack of posting in the last few days but I had one or two things outside of Inside Saab that needed finishing in quick time. Back on deck now.
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The hardest working man I’ve ever seen in my 40 or so years on this earth. Unbelievable.
…… from yesterday.
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Your must read for this week is an article that’s actually a few weeks old.
John Simister is a writer with Octane, a classic and performance car magazine, and he owns a two-stroke Saab 96.
He recently had the good fortune of visiting with Mr Saab, Erik Carlsson, and took his 96 along for the trip. What ensued was the sort of thing that automotive enthusiast’s dreams are made of.
He got to see his own classic car in the hands of the master, and then got to drive the master’s Saab 96 for himself.
It really is fantastic reading for any Saab fan.
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Yes you do. Nice 9-5, that one.
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Car Design Community is an online hangout for people interested in the topic. They seem to have a regular competition called SketchFighters where they ask community members to provide designs using various criteria.
One tricky condition of the competition is that members only have one hour to design and then post their designs on the website.
Earlier this week they tackled Saab and it’s always fun to see what others come up with in terms of future Saab designs.
Here are a couple of my favourites, but there are plenty more at SketchFighters.
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Ever driven across the United States?
Phil L recently picked up a MY2000 Saab 9-5 in New Jersey and decided to bring the car home to Seattle…. with a camera.
What he’s put together from that trip is a 3,000+ mile timelapse – one photo every 10 seconds – that will take you from Boston, though New York, Ohio, Illinois, Wisconsin (wet!), Iowa (home of next year’s Saab Owners Convention), Minnesota (is that dead bug on the windscreen giving him the finger?), South Dakota, Wyoming (Cowboy Up!) and Montana before he crosses into Washington and gets home to Seattle.
It’s 24 minutes, so you’ll need some time, but it’s very watchable. It’s interesting to see the changes in landscape, the clouds and even the vehicles on the roads. Great drums on the soundtrack, too. Enjoy.
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Management working on different scenarios to secure funding and ensure longer term continuity of Saab and Group
Zeewolde, the Netherlands, 31 August 2011 – Swedish Automobile N.V. (Swan), a holding company that owns subsidiaries which produce and sell premium automobiles under the Saab and Spyker brands (together referred to as the “Group”), today announces its interim results for the first half year 2011 ended 30 June 2011. The Group is listed on NYSE Euronext Amsterdam (ticker symbol SWAN).
FINANCIAL DEVELOPMENTS H1 2011
OPERATIONAL DEVELOPMENTS H1 2011
Sales performance seriously affected by production stoppages and tight liquidity situation during second quarter
Victor R. Muller, CEO of the Group and CEO and Chairman of Saab Automobile, said: “It will come as no surprise that this has been an unbelievably tough quarter for this company. Nothing is worse than having to delay salary payments to your loyal employees and they deserve nothing less than my sincere apologies. Moreover, our ever tighter financial situation resulted in sustained production stoppages, lost revenues and a significantly increased operating loss. Our business plan is under review pending completion of funding negotiations and to reflect ventures with our future partners Pang Da and Youngman.”
“There are rays of light on the horizon as well. We have booked good progress in negotiations with our suppliers on payment and delivery terms, and we continue our effort to secure additional near-term funding to enable a sustainable restart of production. Investor interest exists in Saab Automobile based on a continued belief in the long-term prospects for the brand and the company. Despite the company’s current predicament, they recognise the potential of the Saab business: several new vehicles waiting to be launched in global markets, loyal customers who continue to order cars to this very day, a strong premium brand, committed and well-funded new Chinese partners and a highly-skilled workforce responsible for many innovations in the automotive business.”
“However, we know that we can’t look too far into the future just yet. Right now, the focus of Saab management is on working as hard as possible to bring the company back into calmer waters by significantly strengthening our financial position, reaching agreement with all our suppliers on payment and delivery terms and restart production as soon as possible. We are evaluating all available options in order to secure continuity of Saab Automobile.”
The half-year report and financials are available for download here (PDF)
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