Saab Update: Geely interested in Saab?
Yesterday's calm on the blog was due to respect for Steve Jobs' life work. A day of rest and reflection - with a little distance from the blog - was good for me, sometimes it is helpful to slow down life a bit.
So, now back to the topic. Yesterday came over Reuters the message that Geely should be interested in Saab, the interest of Lotus Youngman, however, should be noticeably cold.
The message fits the rumors of the last weeks, which I have heard from Sweden. For one thing, the sources say that the chemistry between Saab and Youngman has been wrong for some time. As I said, these are rumors. On the other hand, Geely wanted to take Saab completely longer, but failed in the spring of this year to Muller and Antonov.
Allegedly, Guy Lofalk, the administrator at Saab and Martin Larsson, met with Geely in China last week, Reuters sources said.
In Trollhättan the frustration is growing. On the one hand, it is difficult to get documents from Youngman from China, on the other hand, the license fees are still pending. A payment date seems to be no longer, although signed contracts are present. Even if the decision of the NDRC in Beijing, which for the 14. October is expected, can help is questionable. Observers expect the commission to clarify some details, but not all things.
What short- and medium-term effects this development would have for Saab and Trollhättan, history would confirm, is unclear. The fact is that a few weeks ago a delegation of Geely visited the Saab facilities. Also, it is an open secret that at that time you wanted to take over the spare parts business and some structures, but definitely not interested in the production.
Volvo itself has problems with overproduction, strikes shifts at the end of the year and dismisses 300 employees. In Udevalla one wants to close the small convertible factory 2013 completely. Does Geely need another work, or will the Volvo Cabriolets soon be off the line in Trollhättan?
What's up to the rumors, what's right and what's not is unclear. The current position of Lotus Youngman to Saab is known only to those responsible at Saab and the administrator Guy Lofalk. Even what Geely plans, opens up not immediately.
As long as there is no official statement from Swedish Automobile on Geely and Lotus Youngman, everything remains a guess.
All I can say is that maybe we could also have a great poker game in which both sides are trying to secure an advantage. Everything is open, certainly a lot of politics is involved. Maybe only an old story will be warmed up.
We can not look behind the scenes. We will see how it goes on. There is nothing more to say.
Addendum: After the article was finished, the denial came from Geely. There is no plan to take over Saab, according to Lawrence Ang from Geely, Hong Kong.
Text: tom@saabblog.net
