Volvo Gets Some. Saab Gets None

by Bertel Schmitt

Published: March 12th, 2009

Volvo is a step closer to salvation, while Saab is a step closer to damnation.According to Germany’s Handelsblatt, the European Investment Bank (EIB) has approved a €445M loan to Volvo, after the Swedish government gave a guarantee for 90 percent of the loan. This cash injection should buy Volvo some time to restructure and to pretty-up for a sale. According to Financial Times, Ford has begun seeking indicative bids for Volvo. The sale process is expected to last until late in the year. Three people involved in—or briefed on—the sale say Volvo has drawn tentative interest from at least three Chinese carmakers. Talks have also been held about forming a Swedish-led investor consortium amid concerns among some in Sweden’s motor industry about the possible leakage of intellectual property to China.Totally different (downright ugly) picture at Saab.The Swedish government again denied any money. Sweden’s Minster of Economy, Ewa Björling, said, “up to now, we haven’t seen a proposal from Saab that could provide a foundation for support.” Sounds like Björling has compared notes with Germany’s Chancellor Merkel. To the extent that Björling criticized the German Social Democrats who favor the German government taking an equity stake in Opel: “This is on the wrong track,” Björling said.Even GM Europe chief, Carl-Peter Forster, lost his usual swagger. According to Automobilwoche, Forster said that there are “interested parties but no formal talks” in regards to a partial sale of Opel. To make any deal work, Opel needs loan guarantees for €3.3B, and as for the chances of getting those anytime soon, see above.The way things look now: Europe seems to be willing to support Ford and Volvo. GM, Opel, Saab, Vauxhall look like dead men barely walking.

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.

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Paul Niedermeyer on Mar 12, 2009

I've been following Opel for a long time, and it's been a mostly money losing operation. Market share has been dropping for over decade, and most years, especially the last few, has seen lots of red ink. I will say that Carl-Peter Forster has been doing a good job of continually trying to restructure to reduce costs and improve the products, but its been a difficult environment. He's the sharpest exec GM has. I wrote a whole editorial on this, but the TTAC search engine is useless.

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Paul Niedermeyer on Mar 12, 2009

Here it is: http://www.thetruthaboutcars.com/general-motors-death-watch-177-the-world-is-not-enough/

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