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China’s Beijing Auto Backs Koenigsegg in Purchase of Saab

admin — Fri, 11 Sep 2009 14:58:40 +0000

Koenigsegg’s bid to purchase GM’s Swedish Saab brand was contingent on the company securing additional funding, either through external investment or through loans. With the Swedish government not overly excited about bailing out Saab and after rejecting attempts by Volvo to secure assistance, Keonigsegg has looked to the private sector and overseas for an interested party.

Koenigsegg Group AB has now announced it has found just that in Chinese automaker Beijing Automotive Industry Holdings.

The deal has yet to be finalized and no monetary amount has been given, but Koenigsegg did say that Beijing Auto will be a minority non-controlling shareholder.

In return Saab will not only get much-needed funding but also access to the massive Chinese marketplace.

“This is an important step on the road to a new SAAB Automobile. We have a solid business plan, an important partnership and we are now in a position to go ahead without any governmental financing,” said Christian von Koenigsegg, CEO of Koenigsegg Group AB.

Official release after the jump:

Koenigsegg Group AB signs MOU with Beijing Automotive Industry Holdings Co. Ltd (BAIC) regarding SAAB Automobile AB

Koenigsegg Group AB has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with Beijing Automotive Industry Holdings Co. Ltd. (”BAIC”) to explore growth opportunities in the Chinese and international markets for the products of SAAB Automobile and BAIC.
Under the terms of the MOU, BAIC would become a non-controlling minority shareholder in Koenigsegg Group. Koenigsegg Group will own 100 per cent of SAAB Automobile AB. The intention is to conclude an agreement later this year. Due to confidentiality agreements signed, further facts cannot be discussed at this time. The Swedish Government has been fully briefed on the MOU.

Koenigsegg Group now focuses on the ongoing discussions with the Swedish National Debt Office about the government guarantee for the loan with the EIB that SAAB Automobile has applied for.

Saab releases details of its new 9-5 flagship

admin — Fri, 11 Sep 2009 14:53:44 +0000

MUNICH — Saab today released details of its new 9-5 flagship, a car crucial to the brand’s success as an independent automaker under new ownership.

Earlier this month, General Motors Co. reached a deal to sell Saab to Koenigsegg Group AB, a consortium of private investors that includes Koenigsegg Automotive AB, a tiny Swedish maker of $1 million supercars.

The new 9-5 will play an important role in a product offensive that Koenigsegg plans to announce once its purchase of the brand from GM is finalized.

“This car is the start of a new era for our brand,” said Saab Managing Director Jan-Ake Jonsson in a statement.

Saab says the new 9-5 is the most technically advanced car it has made to date with an array of high-tech features including an aircraft-inspired head-up information display, Bi-Xenon adaptive headlights, adaptive cruise control, parking assistance and all-wheel-drive.

The car will be offered with gasoline, diesel or E85 bioethanol four-cylinder turbocharged engines.

The most fuel-efficient diesel, a 160hp, 2.0-liter unit, has CO2 emissions of 139 g/km.

The new 9-5 shares GM’s Epsilon 2 platform with the Opel/Vauxhall Insignia, but the Saab version has a longer wheelbase and its own unique muscular, low-slung exterior styling and unique interior.

The current 9-5 has been on sale for 12 years and its sales have declined as the car has gotten older.

In the first six months, Saab built 9,061 units of the 9-5, down 72.4 percent from the year before, according to J.D Power Automotive Forecasting.

Saab sold 93,000 cars worldwide in 2008.

Volkswagen – Porsche merger now a done deal

admin — Tue, 18 Aug 2009 08:55:15 +0000

In a time when mergers between automakers have become more and more frequent, arguably the biggest unification between two powerhouse car brands has finally been completed.

Volkswagen, the current holder of ‘Europe’s largest automaker’ title, has now completed its merger with Porsche, with the tie-up resulting in an integrated auto group marked under the banner of Volkswagen. The finalized deal comes as the culmination of months of intense negotiations that boasted its fair share of twists and turns that could put a soap opera to shame.

Ironically, it was Porsche that made the first attempt at purchasing Volkswagen after buying a 51% stake in the former’s operations with an aim at increasing it to 75%. But, in a somewhat complicated twist of fate, Porsche ended up losing billions of dollars as a result of the economic crisis, which forced the boys from Stuttgart to come knocking in VW’s door for some much-needed assistance.

Continued after the jump.

The merger calls for VW to purchase a 42 percent stake in Porsche’s auto unit by the end of 2009 with a target completion of purchase by 2011 – provided that all the necessary stages of the merger are met. The result, as you can expect, is the formation of an automotive conglomerate that already boasts of 10 brands, which already includes, among others, Audi.

Similar to VW’s deal with Audi, Porsche will remain an independent company.

According to Martin Winterkorn, Chairman of VW’s Board of Management: “Volkswagen and Porsche today took a decisive step towards a joint future. As a group with now ten strong, independent brands we will further expand our unique global position.”

It’s no secret that Volkswagen has long desired to be the world’s top automaker, even pegging 2018 as the year it hopes to overtake Toyota for first place. The acquisition of Porsche, together with its other brands like Audi, goes a long way in bolstering that mission.

“More than ever before, we now have what it takes to become the automotive industry’s number one. Volkswagen is systematically continuing its successful multibrand strategy by integrating Porsche,” Winterkorn adds.