F&I Management & Training

The chief executive of General Motors has admitted a deal to sell Saab is unlikely ahead of a deadline for bids.

Ed Whitacre said that no bidders had come forward with enough money, and that Saab plants would begin to close this week.

But Dutch sportscar maker Spyker is reported to be preparing a fresh bid for Saab before a deadline of 2200 GMT on Thursday.

A previous offer, made by Spyker in December, was turned down by GM.

Speaking to reporters at GM's headquarters, Mr Whitacre said that the company had done everything it could to secure a sale.

"It's real easy - show up with the money and you can have it," he said. "[But] no one's showed up with the money."

Fresh bid

Spyker has so far submitted two bids to GM in its attempt to buy Saab, although talks collapsed last month.

According to the Wall Street Journal, a third bid is planned and will be submitted later.

An original deadline of 31 December was extended to Thursday by GM to give Spyker more time to raise the necessary funds.

A grand total of 50 years in the motor industry will be celebrated today by Tony Worthy.

Worthy, who works as a consultant for HPI, where he was previously managing director, has spent the half-century in the finance, information and fleet sectors.

He is a fellow of the Institute of the Motor Industry, secretary of the motor trades benevolent fund BEN and last year received the Freedom of the City of London for his contribution to the industry.

His distinguished career began in 1960 when he began a 27-year stint at Mercantile Credit Company where responsibilities ranged from collection and recovery, sales, branch and area management and secondment to a vehicle manufacturer.

Subsequently to this Worthy worked for British Credit Trust, Forthright Finance, First Mutual Contracts, HPI and consultancy for Equifax and CAP.

Most recently he was founding director of Incident Director, a company established to provide business support to SMEs.

DATED: 07.01.10

FEED: AM

If niche supercar maker Spyker can persuade GM to sell it Saab, some franchised dealers could see both brands sold from the same locations.

Spyker chief executive Victor Muller recently said in an interview: "We have our own distribution through Bentley and Lamborghini dealers, but there is no reason why high-end Saab dealers couldn’t sell Spykers.”

Muller, the CEO of Dutch sports car manufacturer Spyker NV, is trying to meet General Motors’ Jan. 7 deadline to sell or close Saab.

GM extended the deadline after it became clear that the negotiations wouldn’t be wrapped up by Dec. 31.

Spyker would stick with Saab’s plans to rebuild the brand around the 9-3, the 9-5 and a 9-4X crossover based on Cadillac SRX mechanicals, while a proposed 9-1 small car will go on hold.

It would keep Saab's headquarters, engineering and production in Trollhattan, Sweden. Trollhattan would produce all Saab cars except the 9-4X, which would be produced by GM’s Ramos Arizpe plant in Mexico.

GM would continue to produce engines for Saab. And Saab would use GM parts in vehicles like the 9-4X and 9-5 sedan. Saab’s relationship with General Motors “would last for years,” Muller told AOL Autos. “It’s a very good relationship, too.”

Spyker also could expect to benefit from the deal. Muller says his sports car company could use Saab’s all-wheel drive technology, plus other components from Saab’s parts bin.

Muller declined to indicate whether Saab can break even on sales of 100,000 units by 2011 or 2012, as had been previously reported.

Saab sold 93,295 units in 2008, and sales this year could dip as low as 60,000 units.

DATED: 07.01.10

FEED: AM