The Auto Writer

The news came Friday and it was swift and final: Swedish automaker Saab was being shut down.

Parent GM, after trying and failing to sell the brand to Koenigsegg than Spyker, announced that time had run out on Saab Automobile AB, just days after concluding a deal with Beijing Auto where that automaker purchased some of Saab’s technology. With the remainder of Saab still available, GM had hoped that they could finalize everything with Spyker last week. But now that won’t be happening.

Over the past few months, General Motors has been pushing hard to remake itself. They have to.

Following the automaker’s emergence from bankruptcy this summer, GM went to work to find or close down four of its brands. A separate Chinese company is expected to close on Hummer early next year, while Pontiac is being shut down altogether. GM planned to sell Saturn to the Penske Group, but that deal fell through as well. Now Saturn will go the way of Saab and Pontiac and be shut down over the coming weeks.

GM took pains on Friday to describe the process resulting in shutting down Saab, reassuring customers that all warranties would be honored and that spare parts and service would be made available to global customers.

GM Europe

Indeed, GM Europe President Nick Reilly said, “Despite the best efforts of all involved, it has become very clear that the due diligence required to complete this complex transaction could not be executed in a reasonable time. In order to maintain operations, Saab needed a quick resolution. We regret that we were not able to complete this transaction with Spyker Cars. We will work closely with the Saab organization to wind down the business in an orderly and responsible manner. This is not a bankruptcy or forced liquidation process. Consequently, we expect Saab to satisfy debts including supplier payments, and to wind down production and the distribution channel in an orderly manner while looking after our customers.”

Saab has always played second fiddle to Volvo, the other automaker in a country of only nine million residents. Sweden saw Volvo go to Ford and Saab to GM over the past two decades, as each company’s chances at surviving independently long term was doubtful.

Volvo Next?

Though Volvo hasn’t been quite the drag on Ford as Saab has been on GM, cash strapped Ford wants to sell it off in order to raise some much needed cash. The Ford brand is now one of the top quality brands in the world, while Lincoln is in the midst of an important makeover. Mercury needs some loving too, but that won’t likely happen until Volvo is out of the way.

In better times, General Motors and Ford would probably have kept their Swedish brands. But their own sinking fortunes coupled with a sharp global decline quickly removed that notion. Ford may still be able to access Volvo technologies after the sale, but GM has no such commitment or interest in Saab.

GM Brands

Quite frankly, Opel is GM’s priority in the European theater, a company that plays a significant role in the automaker’s small car future. Vauxhall is tied in with Opel while Holden and Daewoo represent two other brands GM remains committed to.

Source: GM Corp.