I’ve covered as much of the speculation as I can, and as you can see from that link, the pundits are expecting that GM’s plans will include a sale of Saab.

I’ve tried to call Saab Sweden a few times today but they’re all “in a meeting”. Oh, how I’d love to be a fly on the wall there. Unfortunately, I’ve had to rely on email rather than getting whatever information might be forthcoming over the phone. That means we’ll all have to wait for a reply.

I don’t know if the automaker’s submissions to the US Congress will be made public today or not. It may be that the public portions of those submissions are held over until the committees start their meetings on Thursday (Senate) and Friday (House).

If details are made public, then it’ll probably happen while I’m asleep. In that event, Eggs may be busy working and therefore it’ll be up to you to keep each other updated using the comments section.

Have a good day. I’m off to get some Z’s.

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NOTE: If you’re going to leave a link to a story in comments, make sure you only leave one link per comment. More than one link will see your comment go into the moderation queue and it won’t appear until I give it the all-clear.

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NOTE 2: If you’re sick of all this bailout stuff and just want some Saabology to read, I can highly recommend the Taras Czornyj Q&A.

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Better?

GM are going to submit their plans for the future to the US congress today and every news service in the world is writing up its thoughts as to what’s going to happen. One thing I’m not sure of at this point is whether or not the public section of those documents will be made available straight away, or whether we’ll have to wait until the hearings later this week.

I guess we’ll find out soon enough.

I’m going to present those reports here in the order that I find them. No opinions or conflicts with other stories, just a quote and a link. The newest will be at the top. I’ll keep posting them for as long as I’m awake. Keep checking back.

And in case you don’t notice, there’s a definite trend as to what they’re predicting with regard to Saab.

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NY Times via the Dallas Morning News:

For the Detroit Three automakers to win over Washington lawmakers in their bid for federal aid, they will have to address a key question in the business plans they present Congress with today.

Just how serious are they about shrinking their vast lineups of brands and models to match the harsh reality of the market?

All told, General Motors, Ford and Chrysler sell 112 car and truck models through 15 brands in the United States.

By contrast, the top three Japanese automakers – Toyota, Honda and Nissan – have roughly half as many choices, with 58 models sold through seven brands.

Shutting down a brand is a complicated, costly effort that requires buying out dealers protected by state franchise laws, as well as scaling back vehicle production.

Shrinking dealer networks may be a key component of the business plans that GM, Ford and Chrysler will present in an effort to show that they have viable, long-term strategies.

GM, for example, has about 6,700 dealers in the United States, compared with 1,200 for Toyota.

A thorny question, for GM in particular, is whether it can cut the number of dealers without incurring huge expenses to buy them out.

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Edmunds (not bailout, but relevant, covering incentives in November):

Comparing all brands, in November MINI spent the least at $79 followed by Scion at $195 per vehicle sold. At the other end of the spectrum, Infiniti spent the most, $5,015, followed by SAAB at $4,860 per vehicle sold. Relative to their vehicle prices, Mercury and Kia spent the most, 15.4 percent and 13.9 percent of sticker price, respectively; while MINI spent just 0.4 and Scion spent 1.2 percent.

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EnG here….From CNN:

Local United Auto Workers leaders from across the country will hold an emergency meeting in Detroit on Wednesday to discuss concessions the union could make to help auto companies get government loans.

UAW leaders called the meeting Monday night in an e-mail, obtained by The Associated Press, to local union presidents and bargaining chairmen.

Presidents from union locals for General Motors Corp., Ford Motor Co. and Chrysler LLC will attend the meeting, according to the e-mail. A separate meeting for GM union officials will follow.

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Spiegel:

“Lots of auto firms have been selling the wrong kinds of cars,” Swedish Prime Minister Frederik Reinfeldt said last week. “When someone thinks the state should come in and fix the situation, then I think they’re crazy.”

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Trading Markets:

Shanghai Automotive Industry Corporation (Group) (SAIC) was reported to participate in the merger with General Motors (GM), which is on the verge of bankruptcy now, but the Chinese automaker gave a denial immediately…..

….experts forecasted that GM was likely to sell part of its assets in the near future, attracting several Chinese peers.

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Wall St Journal:

…..vehicle sales in November are expected to come in at an annualized pace of just shy of 11 million vehicles, according to Barclays Capital, a slight improvement from October’s depressed rate of 10.6 million. That rate would be five million vehicles below the year-ago seasonally adjusted annualized rate of 16.1 million. All auto makers, including even normally recession-resistant luxury brands such as Mercedes-Benz and BMW AG, are expected to post big declines, with the Detroit three suffering drops of 30% or more, according to analyst estimates.

The dire news, however, could help the Big Three make their case in Washington for federal aid. Big declines for stronger rivals like BMW, Toyota Motor Corp. and Honda Motor Co. would support Detroit’s argument that the financial crisis is a major cause of trouble across the auto industry, and that GM, Ford and Chrysler just need a “bridge loan” to help them hang on until the economy improves.

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Forbes:

…..judges cannot make workers accept lower wages and they cannot order customers into the showroom. A GM bankruptcy could drag down hundreds of suppliers and redouble existing worries about whether warranties will be honored.

GM’s crisis is so dire that the company might well be able to achieve significant concessions without having to file for bankruptcy. This assumes, however, that management sheds its business-as-usual mentality.

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Globe and Mail:

The most radical surgery is expected at GM, analysts said yesterday. It could include the end of the line for Pontiac, Saab and perhaps Saturn.

One industry observer suggested that Saab is almost certain to go, given that its sales are poor and it is not a core GM brand.

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BNET:

Pushed by the same market forces, the car companies tend to move in a pack. Ford and GM bulked up on acquisitions in the late 1980s and early 1990s, and now they’re shedding those acquisitions. With GM fighting for its life, can it afford to keep hanging onto Saab for a rainy day?

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The Straits Times:

STOCKHOLM - THE Swedish government has ruled out a takeover of the country’s beleaguered automaker Volvo Cars if its owner, US group Ford, decides to sell it, daily Dagens Nyheter reported on Tuesday.

‘It’s not in our industrial policy to own carmakers and we will not jeopardise taxpayers’ money,’ Enterprise and Energy Minister Maud Olofsson told Sweden’s newspaper of reference on the sidelines of a meeting in Brussels.

The centre-right government has on the contrary pursued a policy of selling state assets since it came to power in 2006.

‘We need to look at what the government can do without jeopardising taxpayers’ money,’ she added.

Among possible buyers seen for Volvo are Germany’s BMW and France’s Renault.

‘But selling car companies in the midst of this financial crisis is hard,’ Ms Olofsson acknowledged.

Prime Minister Fredrik Reinfeldt recalled that Volvo and Sweden’s other carmaker Saab, owned by General Motors, have appealed to the government for various forms of state aid.

‘We are not an emergency bank where companies can get money when things take a turn for the worse. That would just be a misappropriation of taxpayers’ money,’ he told Dagens Nyheter.

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Associated Press:

GM will outline efforts to negotiate swapping some of the company’s debt for equity stakes in the automaker, either shares or warrants for them, said two people briefed on the company’s plan.

With eight separate brands, GM will also discuss efforts to shed brands but it would prefer to sell them instead of shutting down Pontiac, Saturn or Saab, said one of the people briefed on the plan. Killing off brands, like GM did with Oldsmobile in 2004, would require cash the company doesn’t have, the person said. The people briefed on GM’s preparations didn’t want to be identified because the plan hadn’t been completed.

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Financial Post (Canada):

FordMotorCo. and GeneralMotors Corp. could dump their Swedish brands as the Detroit companies press U. S. and Canadian lawmakers for emergency aid that may hinge on keeping jobs in North America.

Ford said yesterday it is weighing whether to sell Volvo Cars, its Swedish luxury unit. A person close to GM confirmed the company is reviewing whether to sell or drop at least three brands, including Saab Automobile AB.

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Los Angeles Times:

But saying a brand is for sale and actually selling it are two different things, said Robert Schulz, an auto industry analyst for Standard & Poor’s. With lending for corporate acquisitions all but frozen, there may be few takers for even a prestige marque such as Volvo.

“There’s no obvious candidate to offload these assets to,” Schulz said.

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Detroit News:

The business plans GM, Ford and Chrysler have prepared for Congress include seeking additional givebacks from the UAW as one way to cut costs, according to sources with knowledge of the plans.

A person familiar with one automaker’s plan said a variety of topics are being explored. Key issues include reopening the contract, eliminating the controversial jobs bank that still pays workers even when they are laid off, and how much and how quickly the automakers will contribute to a trust fund to be run by the UAW that will take over responsibility for retiree health care beginning in 2010.

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Business Week:

GM is trying to work out a sale of Saab, BusinessWeek has learned. For several months, GM has been shopping the brand to Chinese, Indian, and Russian carmakers, as well as to the Swedish government, sources familiar with the talks said. Saab Managing Director Jan Ake Jonsson and GM-Europe President Carl-Peter Forster have been leading the efforts to find a buyer, or at least get someone to take the company off GM’s hands.

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Bloomberg:

In GM’s case, the Detroit-based automaker needs to shed brands including Buick, Pontiac, Saab and Saturn as it no longer can afford to keep developing products for each, Noble said. People familiar with GM’s plans said the automaker has studied shedding Saab, Saturn and Pontiac. Hummer is already for sale.

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That initial report was a short one from an Australian newspaper.

The full AFP story is now online and contains more details. Here are a few quotes:

….no matter who ends up as the owner, the government is committed to supporting the industry, well aware that Volvo and Saab and their hundreds of suppliers are “big employers” in Sweden with “lots of know-how,” Nilsson said.

“We want to keep that here and to protect it,” he said, adding that Enterprise and Energy Minister Maud Olofsson had developed “close connections and a close dialogue” with the Swedish manufacturers and their US owners, General Motors for Saab, and Ford for Volvo…..

And a little more Saab specific stuff:

Saab, fully-owned by GM since 2000, has tried to avoid lay-offs at its Trollhaettan plant in southwestern Sweden, which employs some 1,200 people, by reducing its two shifts to one.

“We have held intense negotiations with the Swedish government,” Saab spokesman Eric Geers told AFP, adding that the centre-right government planned to increase its subsidies for research and development.

According to Nilsson, these subsidies will amount to 450 million kronor (55 million dollars, 43 million euros) annually for 2009-2012, compared to 430 million this year.

The government also has other measures already in place — since 2007, it has given car buyers a 10,000 kronor rebate if they buy an environmentally-friendly car, an offer that is scheduled to expire at the end of 2009.

“It is extremely important for us to get demand going. So anything that would increase demand like (incentives to) scrap old cars” would help, Geers said, noting that Sweden “has one of the largest old car markets in Europe.”

I’ll keep digging………

I’ve left a message at Eric Geers’ office. He was in a meeting at the time of my call, but i’d love to ask him (a) about the nature of these government guarantees, and (b) about the Business Week story claiming the 9-5 has been shelve as GM look for a buyer for Saab.

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Quick on their feet, Saab UK have launched a VAT-free campaign, discounting their cars by 15% to effectively cut out the VAT effect to the customer.

Right now, choose a new Saab from our range and you can save thousands when we cut the equivalent of 15% VAT off the price, making your budget go further. But it must end 31 December. Simply select a car above to find out more.

For a Saab 9-3 Vector Sport with the brilliant TTiD engine, this means a saving of £3280 and a price to the customer of £22,043 instead of the usual £25323.

Not bad if you can get it.

Check out Saab Offers UK for all the details. The offer ends December 31, 2008.

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Thanks David S!

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GM is trying to work out a sale of Saab, BusinessWeek has learned. For several months, GM has been shopping the brand to Chinese, Indian, and Russian carmakers, as well as to the Swedish government, sources familiar with the talks said. Saab Managing Director Jan Ake Jonsson and GM-Europe President Carl-Peter Forster have been leading the efforts to find a buyer, or at least get someone to take the company off GM’s hands……

…..In a statement issued on Monday, the Swedish government said it was willing to consider its options and was talking to the carmakers. “The Swedish government has to be worried about this,” says David E. Cole, chairman of the Center for Automotive Research in Ann Arbor, Mich. “In the case of Saab, they won’t want to lose that facility in Trollhattan [Sweden].”

GM has about 5,000 employees in Sweden, most of whom work in the Saab factory in Trollhattan, where the 9-3 and 9-5 models are built. GM has shelved plans to build the 9-5 at its plant in Russelsheim, Germany, since the brand’s future is under review…..

…..GM started shopping the brand more aggressively during the past several months, after Chairman and CEO G. Richard Wagoner Jr. announced plans in July to save or raise $15 billion in cash through cuts and asset sales. So far, there has been some interest, but the global recession and credit crunch makes it tough to get any kind of deal done…..

……Saab would be the easiest of GM’s brands to ditch. Many of its dealers are already paired with Cadillac franchises.

Let me take you back to the interview I did with Eric Geers a few weeks ago.

Eric had this to say about the Saab 9-5 at that time:

Eric Geers: First of all, we never officially indicate when we’re going to launch new products, but as I said earlier, there were so many speculations that in the end, dates end up almost living their own lives. So as long as a car hasn’t yet made it to market, it’s very difficult to talk about a delay.

There are always re-timings when you are developing a product. There are always timing issues for various reasons. What we did say is that the 9-4x has been delayed a little bit but the 9-5 is currently completely on schedule.

TS: So the 9-5 is on schedule from your perspective?

EG: Yeah.

We went on to chat about the 9-5 in a context that I can’t share on this site, but let me tell you that at no time was there a mention of the 9-5 being delayed, and there was certainly no mention whatsoever of it’s production at Russelsheim being shelved.

Ths Business Week article says that they’ve been shopping Saab around for some time, which would indicate that the plans for the 9-5 to be removed from Russelsheim’s forward planning would have also been around for some time. I’m sure that Eric would be familiar with this, yet I can assure you there was nothing of the sort mentioned in our conversation.

It’ll be interesting so see which way this one goes.

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Thanks Tim!

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To begin with, this comparison isn’t really what you’d call an in-depth report. It’s more of a summary of all three vehicles with some cutesy categories chosen to allow the writers (all four of them) to write witty little comments about each car in each category.

The categories:
- Non-grocery getter (this is the styling competition — one mustn’t look too frumpy driving a wagon!)
- Sporty driving experience
- Gas mileage
- Cabin luxury
- Ride comfort
- Driver comfort
- Back seat roominess
- Cargo utility
- Overall value
- Editor’s choice

The scoring:

Audi A4 Avant Quattro 2.0T wins non-grocery getter, gas mileage, cabin luxury, back seat roominess and overall value with a sticker price US$5,000 less than the Volvo and US$8,000 less than the Saab. As the smallest of the three the Audi loses in the cargo utility category.

Saab 9-3 TurboX SportCombi wins for sporty driving experience and loses (gets ridiculed, really) for the lack of cabin luxury and for the lack of value given the TurboX sticker price. The Saab gets kudos for a strong second in the cargo utilty comparison despite smaller dimensions than the Volvo.

Volvo XC70 T6 wins for driver comfort, ride comfort and for cargo utility.
It handily loses the sporting driving experience category, brings up the rear in the gas mileage comparison and finishes with the editor’s choice award for being exactly what the editors expect in a wagon.

Overall, I think that it’s an OK comparison — at least the three vehicles are similarly equipped, nothing out of the ordinary, etc. It’s simply a line up of comparisons that doesn’t really play to the Saab’s strengths, and I think that we’ve all realized by now that the TurboX package isn’t exactly price competitive (according to the article: “The outdated Saab seemed woefully overpriced.”). This “compliment” for the Volvo in the editor’s choice statement says it all:

When Americans think of wagons, they remember spacious people-haulers. That’s exactly what the XC70 is. With all its family-friendly features and a comfortable ride, it most resembles that classic wagon ideal, modernized for the 21st century.

I, for one, am glad that the 9-3 SportCombi can’t be described this way. In a context where the mundane is valued over the sporting character of the car, I’m glad that the Saab doesn’t win. If I wanted to remember the “spacious people haulers” of the American past, I’d buy a 1976 Buick Estate, for crying out loud!

However (and there has to be a however or there wouldn’t be a post in this), I am disappointed at the way that the 9-3 TurboX SportCombi loses two categories: the cabin luxury comparison and the editor’s choice.

In the cabin luxury comparison, the TurboX wagon is characterized as “A much older design” and judged “not luxurious enough for [US]$40,000-plus”. As if to rub salt in the wound, the editor’s choice segment squashes Saab again:

While it may be the most fun to drive and offers a sizeable cargo area, the 9-3 fails at just about every other step. Throw in the high price tag and we can’t imagine why people would choose it over the competitors here.

Ouch.

We need new product. Warmed over “much older” designs interiors (thanks Kroum!) from Vauxhall and Opel can’t cut it in today’s market. It’s getting downright embarrassing when your flagship product is panned like that.

Here’s the report, by AFP and picked up on some Aussie news networks (great work, DamoG!!)

SWEDEN will come to the rescue of its US-owned carmakers crippled by the financial crisis, Saab and Volvo, to secure the future of an automobile industry which accounts for 15 percent of exports, officials say.

“Of course the Swedish government is committed to supporting the carmakers.

“We can guarantee that we will have car manufacturing in Sweden because it is an important part of our economy,” Frank Nilsson, a spokesman for the enterprise and energy ministry, told AFP.

Volvo is owned by US company Ford, which overnight said it is considering selling Volvo because of the challenged facing the US auto industry.

US auto company General Motors, which has said it will run out of cash by the end of the year unless the US government provides financial support, owns Saab.

Sweden is committed to supporting Volvo and Saab and their hundreds of suppliers, which are “big employers” in Sweden with “lots of know-how,’’said Mr Nilsson.

Seven in ten Swedes want the state to take over Volvo Cars temporarily, according to a weekend poll.

Volvo Cars has been hit hard by declining sales, as interest for its big, costly models dwindles.

In the third quarter, the company posted a net loss of $US458 million, nearly three times its full-year 2007 loss of $US164 million.

Meanwhile, Saab has tried to avoid layoffs at its plant by reducing two shifts to one.

I don’t know if this is just an extension of prior reports that Saab and Volvo had been talking to the government, or if this is a fresh story with guarantees that are iron clad. The story was only 19 minutes old when I clipped it and there was no other story with the same headline elsewhere, so it looks like a fresh one.

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The next big question to ask is what form of guarantees are they talking about here?

I’m pretty sure it’s not going to be a matter of handing over a wad of cash and then leaving the room. I would guess that it’ll be some sort of commitment to R&D funding or just a general undertaking that the industry won’t go under if and when the parent companies start looking for buyers.

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Another question is whether or not this guarantee has been prompted by Ford’s admission that Volvo is now on the block to be sold?

….and of course, what now for Saab?

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The original piece was around 1500 words, which was much too long for them. I thought about trying to cut the original piece in half and then figured it was easier to just rewrite it from scratch.

The article was published at The Local today. Here’s a copy for your perusal.

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Protect Saab from public sector ‘mediocrity’

If Saab is to preserve its tradition of excellence it needs to remain in the private sector, argues Steven Wade following a recent flurry of calls to nationalize the Swedish car maker.

This week, the CEOs of General Motors, Ford and Chrysler will present before the US congress their detailed reasonse as to why their respective companies should receive loans in the billions of dollars.

There has been much speculation as to what concessions these companies might have to offer the government in return for a financial lifeline and some of that speculation concerns an automotive brand that is very dear to my heart, and no doubt to the hearts of many Swedes as well: Saab.

There has been a lot of talk recently of the Swedish government taking ownership of Saab, or Volvo, or even both. It is my belief that such a decision would be the first sad, calculated step along the road to deliberate mediocrity.

Saab is a small player on the world stage, but has a history that all Swedes should be proud of. At their height, Saabs were a shining light as to what a car could be. Much of the talk nowadays in the motoring industry is about fuel economy and building smaller cars with the room and power of larger cars. Saab has been doing this since the 1970s.

And I believe it has the plans in place to do it again.

To succeed in the automotive industry today a company has to have cutting edge R&D, progressive design, brilliant build quality and razor sharp marketing. Whilst the latter can be outsourced, the first three require insight, intelligence and planning that a government authority simply doesn’t understand, and nor should they.

The role of government is to provide essential elements that a society needs to function and grow; infrastructure, basic medical care, law and order, education, defence and a regulatory framework to responsibly govern the conduct of the private sector.

The private sector has a role to play in all of these areas as well, but their role is at the pointy end; the space where excellence and innovation are encouraged and rewarded. The space where people are also allowed to fail in their pursuit of excellence, innovation and reward.

Who would decide the strategic direction of a government-owned Saab?

How many people would have to be involved in determining and then approving the right level of steering feedback in a government-owned Saab?

How many of the best designers and engineers would stay at a state-owned Saab?
How many would accept more lucrative offers from private carmakers and other technology companies elsewhere in Europe?

The history books, and many cities of the world, are littered with tributes to the mediocrity of state-ownership. If we want to talk specifically in terms of motor vehicles, I defy you to name one state-sponsored motoring project that has truly pursued excellence.

There have been many that pursue the basic necessity of travel from A to B, most often with teeth-rattling suspension and driving characteristics that are about as engaging as a can of grey paint.

The Saab that I know and love should never be allowed to sink to such a level, but there’s a high likelihood it would under long-term state ownership.

If they survive this current mess, General Motors should invest in Saab with the same enthusiasm with which they’ve got workers in Trollhättan building Cadillacs. Saab’s design ethos is the way of the future – smaller, lighter and smarter. GM should recognize this and develop it.

Should it not survive intact, then I sincerely hope that GM sells Saab to someone who is able to make Saab what it truly can be: a company building innovative, stylish, safe, engaging and practical automobiles.

The Swedish government can’t do that. An automotive company has to have long term plans and those plans have to be determined by people who know the industry. More importantly, those plans and the investments needed to fulfill them cannot be subject to the changing will of a political party that may or may not be around in three or four years.

Unless it’s a very short term arrangement to transfer ownership to a proper owner in the private sector, the Swedish government should not take ownership of Saab, but they should provide support by helping to create conditions where the company can grow.

That’s one of the true roles of government, after all.

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Steven Wade is a rabid Saab enthusiast and has been the publisher of the Saab enthusiast site, www.trollhattansaab.net since February 2005. He lives in Australia with two Saabs, his wife PJ and dog, Charli.

Ford have announced, after denying that they were interested in it for a good 18 months now, that they’re going to do a review of the future of Volvo Cars.

Read that as: Volvo is on the block and Ford are open to offers.

Ford are widely considered to be the best positioned of the Detroit Three and their CEO, Alan Mullaly has played things very cool in the last month or so.

They don’t need a bailout, per se, but they’ll sit in and plead their case just like the others. They have good products that are new to market. They have the bigger of the two Swedish automakers and they’re going to hit the market first to get the best buyer.

All smart moves and timed just right to present to the US congress.

——

As reported the other day, Volvo Trucks aren’t interested in buying out Volvo Cars. They will stick their hand up for some joint research, etc, in order to ease the burden, but they don’t want to take it over.

Volvo, for their part, aren’t surprised by all this sale talk.

Beleaguered Swedish carmaker Volvo, a unit of struggling Ford, says it is not surprised at news that the US auto giant is mulling selling it in the face of an industry-wide crisis.

“We understand they have to evaluate a number of different options. What will happen exactly, we don’t know,” Volvo Cars spokeswoman Maria Bohlin told AFP, adding that Ford had not informed the unit that it could soon be up for sale.

“There has been speculation about this for a long time but we don’t know. We have to wait and see what happens,” Bohlin said.

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If you’re interested in theorising as to who might buy Saab, you can cross Scania off your list. Ryan at Saab History did some good legwork last week and got the word from Scania that they have no interest in letting Saab back into bed.

——

Right now, I’m feeling pretty relaxed about Saab’s future.

Why?

Because Robert Farago has placed them on an “official death watch”. Seeing his death-watches seem to take around 3 or 4 years to get even close to fruition, and only then in exceptional market circumstances, I’d say we’ll see Saab with a full fleet within no time

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Some reports are saying that GM’s alleged plan to jettison brands is part of a cash-saving measure. Others are saying that any plan to sell or shutter Saab would be a token gesture to assure the US government that funds loaned would stay within the US.

The Swedish government have confirmed that they have had talks with Saab and Volvo, but won’t go any further than that:

Financial Times reported on Monday that U.S. carmakers GM, which owns Saab Automobile AB, and Ford, owner of Volvo Car Corporation, had approached the Nordic country’s government about financial aid to the Sweden-based subsidiaries “in anticipation of selling them.”

The heads of both companies had spoken to Swedish Industry Minister Maud Olofsson about securing funds, the FT said, citing people familiar with the discussions.

Sweden denied it had outlined any details concerning loan guarantees. FT said the Swedish government has considered devoting about 2 billion Swedish crowns ($252 million) to Saab and Volvo in direct aid or loan guarantees.

“We are discussing all possibilities. But what they write, that specific amount of money in loan guarantees, that is haphazard information taken out of context and I don’t understand where they’ve gotten it from,” said Frank Nilsson, spokesman for the industry minister.

One report claims that the promise of Swedish government money will be used as a carrot around Saab’s neck to woo potential suitors:

According to reports, GM wants to improve Saab’s market potential and sell the Swedish subsidiary as soon as possible. The ailing carmaker hopes that governmental funding will help the company raise awareness of the brand’s potential.

Further reports are saying that the Swedish government are waiting on the decisions of other governments before they make any sort of decision:

Reached on Monday by the TT news agency, Jöran Hägglund, a state secretary in Sweden’s enterprise ministry, said he was unaware of plans for Volvo and Saab to be sold, but confirmed that the government is holding ongoing discussions with both Ford and GM.

According to Hägglund, no decision will be taken regarding possible state aid for Saab and Volvo before the details of the European Commission’s €200 billion ($253 billion) stimulus package have been finalized.

Part of the package, roughly €5 billion, is expected to go support the European auto industry.

Moreover, Hägglund believes that the futures of Ford and GM depend largely on a decision expected later this week by the US Congress regarding a request for $25 billion to help bailout the US auto industry.

“We have no reason to race ahead of the pack,” said Hägglund.

So…..

Which of the two alternatives is GM up to? Fattening the calf for slaughter or seeking some padding to assuage their own bankers?

I’m hoping it’s the latter but preparing myself for it being the former. Just in case.

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