Our Daily Saab: Administrator Ready To Pull The Plug

by Bertel Schmitt

Published: December 6th, 2011

our daily saab administrator ready to pull the plug

The accounts are empty, GM keeps saying no, the reconstruction administrator is about to pull the plug on Saab. Unfazed, The Church of The True Saab goes from clumsy spinning to simply telling lies. First, they turned “a bank in China” into “the Bank of China.” As Chinacartimes quips, this “could be anything from the smallest local city bank to a national level bank.”

Now, Saabsunited spins another yarn to keep the faithful from losing faith and face:

“Pang Da says that they are not out of the deal, on the contrary, they continue talks.”

Not true. Pang Da is not part of any deals and is in no talks. The alleged enthusiast blog, which in reality is an amateurishly run mouthpiece of Victor Muller and Vladimir Antonov, usually prides itself on inside knowledge (which is never released). This time, the information comes from Reuters.

According to this report, Pang Da is far from being part of the deal.

“In principle, we would not oppose any plan that would be good for Saab’s restructuring and help it out of the current plight.”

This in turn is pulled from a milquetoast statement Pang Da had posted on the Shanghai stock exchange late on Monday. Our sources in China say that Pang Da is out of the deal, but would not mind to be back in. We are told that the team that had led the negotiations between Pang Da and Saab has been reassigned to other jobs, ostensibly as part of a re-org at Pang Da. We are also told that a new team is being assembled. That’s it.

All the rah-rah about white knights du jour may keep the hopes up, but it does not help to keep the lights on at Saab. They are flickering.

The money that is supposedly on the way from China has not arrived.

GM, which needs to approve any deals involving its technology, has not changed its position, it hasn’t even seen a new deal, Sveriges Radio says. GM spokesman James Cain told the station: “As of today, there is no change. We haven’t changed our position on the matter.”

Dagens Industri is not surprised. A source predicted that GM would turn down the deal, because it is just a diversion.

Reconstruction administrator Guy Lofalk is unimpressed by any last minute deals and is ready to pull the plug. Lofalk told Dagens Industri: “We are at the end of the road. We would be happy if there would be other options. There just isn’t any money left.”

#BertelSchmitt #Europe #GM #PangDa #Saab

Bertel Schmitt

Bertel Schmitt comes back to journalism after taking a 35 year break in advertising and marketing. He ran and owned advertising agencies in Duesseldorf, Germany, and New York City. Volkswagen A.G. was Bertel's most important corporate account. Schmitt's advertising and marketing career touched many corners of the industry with a special focus on automotive products and services. Since 2004, he lives in Japan and China with his wife <a href="http://www.tomokoandbertel.com"> Tomoko </a>. Bertel Schmitt is a founding board member of the <a href="http://www.offshoresuperseries.com"> Offshore Super Series </a>, an American offshore powerboat racing organization. He is co-owner of the racing team Typhoon.

More by Bertel Schmitt

Comments

Join the conversation

6 of 39 comments

Jeff_vader on Dec 07, 2011

The new plan is this; SWAN borrow 600 million euros from Youngman & an unamed Chinese bank now. In two years time, once the GM IP deal runs out, they get the entire Moosehouse. Sounds great doesn't it? Just a few small problems with that. 1.) 600 million euros won't pay for the development of one new model let alone the development of three which is what Saab will need once GM take their toys away. 2.) If there is any GM IP left in the PhoeniX platform you can't use that either. 3.) And actually that 600 million euros isn't really 600 million euros because has to pay off both the EIB & GM to get total ownership.... oh and the 40 million needed to get the factories back from Hemfosa Fastigheter... oh and 25 million euros loan from Gemini...oh and the 10 million euros needed to buy out GEM Global Yield Fund....oh and any money that PangDa has paid in.....oh and the loans for the wages that the government have paid since the company has been in Re-Organisation.....oh and all the creditors you currently owe money to... and finally the 74 million euros that might be required to be paid back to the Lithuian and Latvian banks as it was lent to Muller by Antonov and is pending an investigation to find out if its ill-gotten gains. 3.) Then there is the worldwide advertising budget that is going to be needed to re-launch the brand and get people to buy cars that they didn't want 12 months ago and which they know should be obsolete two years after they have bought them. And don't forget these cars that no one has wanted to buy will be your only source of income for the next two years because the 9-4X won't be coming now either. 4.) Then there is restarting the dealer network, which in the UK at least is on its last legs with two main dealers closing this week and Saab GB in administration. So no worries then. They'll be up and challenging the VAG group by this time next year.

Like Reply
- See 2 previous
- Dejal1 on Dec 07, 2011
  
  That's crazy talk. None of those problems exist according to the church (or at least the church doesn't talk about them). I say go for it. Maybe, then, all/most of the creditors get a substantial amount of what they are owed back, and the Chinese are left holding the bag. If the Chinese are dumb enough to do it, they should be allowed to.
  
  Like
- Sen Moloney on Dec 07, 2011
  
  Your second problem doesn't exist. The PhoeniX platform is based on the old Epsilon platform which GM gave to Saab when it sold it because it is "old" GM tech which GM has no need for anymore. Hemfosa doesn't own all of Saab's property, it only owns half and Saab has already paid Hemfosa for a 15 or so year lease of their half. The 9-3 replacement is already more then halfway through development, so Saab only needs to develop 2 new models and all are to be based on the PhoeniX platform. I will concede to your many other points though. Though nobody said it was going to be easy. Hell, life isn't easy, so should I take the shotgun up to the back paddock and blow my brains out? No, I should do everything I can to stay alive and live a reasonable life. If every car company gave up when the end looked near then we wouldn't have any car companies at all. Even VW had near death experiences and look at it now. I'm not saying that if Saab survives that it'll become the largest car maker in the world, and I don't want it to be. No Saab fan wants Saab to become a large producer, we like the fact that we are the only household in the street that owns a Saab. We like the fact that in the shopping centre car park it is easy to spot our car in the sea of Toyota's, Subaru's and Audi's. Even if it is because many of you think they are ugly, we like our odd looking sedans, estates hatches and convertibles. We like the fact that there is a button, knob or dial dedicated to a specific purpose as opposed to scrolling through a digital menu which you wouldn't be able to do in rush hour traffic anyway. We like the fact that Saab has a history and heritage that while short by many standards, has seen it contribute more safety and technological breakthroughs to the automotive industry then most others. We like that, you mightn't, but we do. Now you may think that I'm blind, I'm not. I like to think of myself as a realist, I know there is a very VERY high chance that Saab won't exist next year and so I will have to decide whether JLR or VW gets the majority my automotive enthusiasm. But there is also a chance (as slim as it may be) that Saab pulls through. Slim I know, but a chance none the less.
  
  Like
- Wmba on Dec 08, 2011
  
  @Sen Moloney I googled saab safety technological breakthroughs to see what the world has archived on these points. Aside from a self-serving Wikipedia article, there is nothing. Which is what I would have said from memory. This is the problem. Overly enthusiastic Saab fans think that Saab walks on water, when an objective look reveals nothing of note. You claim to not be blind, but you sure are self-hypnotized. Does reality rarely intrude in your life, or do you merely regard it as an inconvenience? That's what the rest of us wonder about Saab fanbois. Just how whacked out are you all? And more to the point: why?
  
  Like
Lokki on Dec 07, 2011

"But there is also a chance (as slim as it may be) that Saab pulls through. Slim I know, but a chance none the less. Your optimism is the kind we want around when 3 of 4 engines have been shot off the bomber, the 4th is on fire and there's a bomb stuck in the bomb-bay door. Pointless and mis-guided optimism, but cheering.

Like Reply
- Sen Moloney on Dec 08, 2011
  
  I could rather be depressed if you rather? Though last time it took 3 years to get out of it, so f you don't mind I'll hold on to my pointless optimism thank you. Reality? Well the reality is that 12 years ago my dad was driving our old 900 home when he lost control of the car and totalled it in a crash that he was told should have killed him. The only injuries he sustained was a bruise where the seat belt held him in his seat as the car was tossed around eventually landing on it's roof. I've seen less severe crashes where people have died due to the fact that the passenger cell couldn't handle the impact. Say what you will about Saab, but when I get in my 9-5 everyday and drive to work, I can feel the solidly of the car. The car will be 13 years old next year and there is no squeaks, rattles, knocks or anything. The car I had before the 9-5 was a Subaru Outback Limited and everything knocked and rattled. I'm not what you would call a slow driver by any means whatsoever. I regularly take corners at 60km's, but the 9-5 feels permanently stuck to the ground. It is a big and heavy car, but it never feels it. I'm not whacked out, or however you put it. I just love my car, and by extension the company that makes it. To someone like me, my car isn't just another car, it becomes a part of me, like an extra limb. I'd really hate to lose any of my limbs. I don't know why people don't like Saab's. I often hear people say that Saab's are expensive to fix and service. Really? I've never had a problem with the 9-5 and the services are just as cheap as my parents Honda CR-V. About $200 AUD. Subaru's on the other hand, I owned my Outback for not even two years, and I spent over $9000 AUD in services and repairs and when I sold it I got $6000 AUD. It was a nice car, but it cost me.
  
  Like