A letter was sent to US Saab dealers on February 17th.
I’ve received a copy of this letter from Djup Strupe, parts of which are reproduced below:
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GM NA saw this reorganisation coming. It was foreshadowed by GM in their report to the US government, mentioned by Rick Wagoner in his press conference, and put down in print in this letter:
Saab Automobile AB’s current difficult economic condition could well require that it files for reorganization under Swedish law in the near term. As additional decisions are reached, they will be communicated promptly to all Saab dealers.
Here’s an interesting conflict. IIRC, we’ve previously been told that GM’s plan for Saab required around $1billion. $600million of this was to come by way of loans guaranteed by the Swedish government and $400million was to come from GM.
Not so, according to the letter:
….the inability to commit additional resources to future Saab products is a painful and difficult decision, but one that GM has had to make due to the unprecedented economic conditions in the industry, Saab’s prolonged and accelerating unprofitability, and GM’s own financial challenges.
This could be ahy Maud’s so upset…..
And “Saab’s prolonged and accelerating unprofitability” could have something to do with epic mismanagement and starvation by the corporate overlords in Detroit and Frankfurt, eh?
For those looking for some good news:
…..you may assure your customers that GM stands fully behind the warranties on Saab products and will support continued availability of parts and service as needed.
But that’s it in terms of good news.
GMNA are basically kicking Saab dealers to the curb.
…..as market conditions have worsened, a number of Saab dealers have contacted us about exiting the business and have inquired about potential GM assistance in that regard. Given the ongoing review of GM’s viability plan by the federal government, the availability, timing and conditions of any potential transition assistance which may be offered to exiting dealers by GM is uncertain.
That’s a cutting statement, especially since they said this earlier in the letter:
While we recognize that this is difficult news, it does not impact your dealer company’s normal day-to-day dealership operations with respect to sales, service and parts activities, all of which remain ongoing under the Dealer Agreement
Yeah, it’s business as usual, I’m sure.
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My thanks to Djup Strupe for sending it in.
I hope Saab dealerships in the US extract their pound of flesh from GM if any meltdown results from all this turmoil. Many of them have spent big dollars on building great Saab facilities, only to have the brand starved of product whilst they’ve been treated like mushrooms (kept in the dark and fed bull$h!t).
A pox on them all…..
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