Qualche dettaglio in più su come è andata la vicenda: in pratica, il Governo svedese si sarebbe negato alla richiesta di GM di mettere dei soldi in saab o di concorrere a rilevarla, facendone una società a controllo statale o qualcosa del genere.
Dettagli anche interessanti su come funziona la procedura in Svezia.
D'altronde, negli ultimi 20 anni, per 19 volte Saab aveva chiuso l'esercizio di bilancio in perdita ed aveva dovuto fare affidamento sul sostegno della casa madre.
Saab Fans Brace for Worst as GM Threatens Disposal (Update1)
By Niklas Magnusson and Chad Thomas
Feb. 18 (Bloomberg) --
Saab Automobile fans are bracing for the day the Swedish carmaker stops running on enthusiasm alone.
“I would be devastated and sad to see Saab go,” said Ryan Emge, 30, who runs a
Web site for Saab aficionados and bought his first Saab in 1995 after a Swedish mechanic in New Salem, Massachusetts, introduced him to the brand. “There are a lot of people here who love and want to keep their Saabs.”
The six-decade love affair between Saab and car drivers is being tested after General Motors Corp. said late yesterday it wants to dump the unit following two decades of unprofitable ownership. Sweden’s government today ruled out a takeover of the country’s second-largest carmaker and said no buyer is in sight, casting doubt over a brand that enjoys a global cult following.
At stake is the future of about
4,500 workers at Saab’s Trollhaettan factory in southern Sweden, as well as thousands of jobs at regional suppliers. A breakdown of Saab would hurt a network of exclusive Saab car dealers in the U.S. and the U.K., and end decades of automotive innovation that spawned features such as side-impact protection or turbo-charged engines.
Dwarfed by regional rival Volvo Cars and German competitors, Saab may find it is too small to survive on its own. The company sold only about 93,000 cars last year, less than 10 percent of what Mercedes-Benz or
Bayerische Motoren Werke AG sold. In its Swedish home market, it ranked behind Volvo, Volkswagen AG and Toyota Motor Corp. in market share last year.
Tough Turnaround
Saab has struggled since
GM bought half of the automaker in 1990 from
Investor AB, the Wallenberg family’s publicly traded holding company. Saab has been on “life-support” for most of the past 20 years, GM Vice Chairman
Bob Lutz said last month. The company has only made a profit in one of the last 20 years.
“I don’t see how you make it more profitable than it has been,” said
Mike Tyndall, an analyst with Nomura Securities in London. “Unless there is something glaringly obvious that GM missed, which I doubt.”
Swedish Industry Minister
Maud Olofsson said GM is to blame for Saab’s problems because its U.S. parent focused on the wrong products and failed to push innovation such as environmentally friendly cars. Prime Minister
Fredrik Reinfeldt today called GM’s demands a “trap” set by U.S. manufacturers to pressure the government into aiding its country’s ailing manufacturers.
Swedish Reconstruction
General Motors said yesterday it wants Saab to become an independent business entity by the beginning of next year, with financial aid from the Swedish government. If GM and the state can’t agree, Saab may file for reorganization “as early as this month,” GM said.
Under a reorganization, a Swedish court appoints a “reconstructor” who stands above existing management and helps the company write off 75 percent of its debt. The court evaluates the progress of a reconstruction after three months and decides if the plan is to be extended to as much as one year or if the business should be liquidated to pay creditors from the proceeds.
Saab isn’t the only European brand reeling from GM’s financial woes. GM, which asked the U.S. for as much as $16.6 billion in new loans and said it needs to cut
47,000 more jobs worldwide, is also negotiating with governments in Germany and the U.K. about options for the Opel and Vauxhall brands.
Saab’s popularity peaked in the 1980s, when the 900 model drew buyers seeking a European car that stood for technical innovation, safety, luxury and idiosyncratic design. Saab became the car of choice for consumers who felt Volvo was too bland, and
German carmakers such as BMW and Mercedes were overly brash. Today, Saab relies on two models, the 9-3 and the 9-5, which are popular in the station-wagon version.
Quirky Design
Saab’s niche existence has assured the company a following that resembles the enthusiasm for the Volkswagen Beetle or
Porsche AG’s 911 sports car. Saab has fan clubs from Belarus to Australia. In the U.S, there are Saab clubs in more than 25 states, including California, Florida, Kansas, Louisiana and Texas, according to the Saab Club of North America.
Saab traces its origins to aircraft company Svenska Aeroplan AB that was founded in 1937 to secure production of Swedish warplanes. Saab peddled its heritage with advertisements claiming the cars are “Born from Jets.” Slogans such as “Saab, the Well-Built Swede” from the late Sixties evoked quality and safety features that made both Volvo and Saab famous.
Saab was the first carmaker in the world to introduce side- impact protection systems in 1972. Saab cars came with heated car seats, and the convertibles had glass rear windows where rival models had plastic. Saab’s styling, with its iconic silhouette and back spoilers, together with the turbo technique that produces more power, made the car recognizable and a hit with 80s Yuppies and drivers who demanded high-performance engineering.
Diluted Brand
“GM took a top quality brand and then diluted it,” said
Stephen Pope, chief global strategist at Cantor Fitzgerald in London. “It’s not a volume car but it’s not as exclusive as the Germany luxury carmakers.”
While GM focused on its struggling North American operations, the auto industry changed and Saab didn’t adapt. Saab and Volvo, owned by Ford Motor Co., occupied a market position between the luxury and volume carmakers that became irrelevant as the volume carmakers improved the quality of their offerings.
GM tried to replicate the success
Toyota Motor Corp. and Volkswagen AG had with their own luxury units that share parts and platforms with the main volume brands. Unlike Volkswagen and Toyota, GM didn’t invest enough to make the Saab strategy work.
Saab’s lack of scale may make survival harder. Volvo Cars, which has also been put up for
sale by Ford, sold 375,000 vehicles last year. Saab said today it needs to sell at least 150,000 cars in order to have a business that works.
“GM lost the plot,”
Philippe Houchois, an automotive analyst with UBS AG in London, said. “They were so tied up in their problems in North America, they didn’t really do a very thorough job in a lot of their overseas operations.”
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