Monday, 30 May 2011

Great Wall: “We have not been in contact” with Saab

Friday, May 13th, 2011 @ 11:25 a.m.

The future of Saab continues to be enshrined in doubt today as China’s Great Wall Motor Co. says it is not holding talks with the ailing automaker. It was reported yesterday that Saab was negotiating with Great Wall after a deal with China’s Hawtai Motor collapsed.

Saab desperately needs a cash infusion to re-open its main Trollhattan production plant, but Great Wall says that investment won’t come from it.

“To be honest, no. We have not even been in contact,” Shang Yugui, a spokesman for Great Wall Motor Co. said today. “I asked my boss about this and he says no.”

Saab parent Spyker was “forced to terminate” a deal with Hawtai that would have given the automaker $233 million. However, Hawtai denies the termination was the result of a lack of government approval and says it is still working with Saab to get the deal completed.

“Hawtai continues discussions with Spyker and our review of cooperation options with Saab remains a top priority,” Hawtai said. “Saab needs help and we strongly believe we are the best partner in this regard.”

Saab’s Trollhattan factory closed on April 6 after the Swedish automaker ran out of money to pay suppliers. Saab says it has plenty of cars in inventory, but it remains to be seen how long the automaker can survive without its primary production facility out of commission.

References
1.’China automaker…’ view


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