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Koenigsegg has backed out of a deal to purchase Saab from General Motors, leaving the future of GM's cash-strapped Swedish luxury brand in serious doubt.
The Swedish supercar maker was leading a consortium to purchase Saab from GM, but has said that it has decided not to go ahead with the deal, as it was unable to agree with investors on how best to move Saab upmarket into a genuinely premium position.
GM, which has vowed to slim down from eight brands to four following its emergence from Chapter 11 bankruptcy this summer, could well now decide to shut down its loss-making Swedish subsidiary.
One lifeline for Saab could be Beijing Automotive Industry Holdings, which was part of the original Koenigsegg-led consortium. In a statement, Beijing Autos today said that the collapse of the deal to buy Saab was "regrettable".
Beijing stopped short of actually saying it was interested in a stand-alone bid, but hinted that this was a possibility.
"The path of internationalization and progressive development remains an important part of Beijing Auto's strategy," it said. "In view of Koenigsegg's withdrawal, we will carefully re-evaluate the project and make the appropriate arrangements."
Saab's future will be decided by GM at a board meeting on 1 December.
"We're obviously very disappointed with Koenigsegg's decision to pull out of the Saab purchase", said GM boss Fritz Henderson. "Given the sudden change in direction, we will take the next few days to assess the situation and will advise on the next steps next week."
The collapse of the deal with Koenigsegg follows GM's failure to sell Opel to Magna and US brand Saturn to the Penske Automotive Group, making it the third GM brand sale to fail since the US automotive giant exited from Chapter 11 bankruptcy proceedings on 10 July.
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