Trollhättan, Sweden: Management of Swedish Automobile N.V. (Swan) and Saab Automobile AB (Saab Automobile) confirm that the reorganization is progressing and that a first payment by Youngman under the bridge loan funding commitment as announced on September 12 was received by Saab Automobile.
Further payments under the amended and final bridge loan agreements signed between Youngman and Saab Automobile are expected to be made during this week and by October 22 of this year. It is the intention to repay the bridge loan with the proceeds of the EUR 245 million equity investments by Youngman and Pang Da, which are still subject to approval by relevant authorities and parties which Swan expects to receive during the next weeks.
Griffin Up !!!
when will SAAB start production?
I believe that production will start in the beginning of next year as earliest
Agree but will be in mars as earliest and that means app. one year without production, which company can survive that. I think even Saab will have diffilculties wïth that cause they did not sell well after restart 2010.
🙂 🙂 🙂
Good that there is more bridge financing coming.
Interesting wording ‘amended and final bridge loan agreement’ – I would like to know what this new deal consists of.
So now it’s up to the Chinese authorities right ?
Anyway, very good news 🙂
Yes if the Chinese authorities give approval then I think Saab is home and dry.
agreed. I don’t know WTF all the other noise in the “news” was all about the past few days but it goes to show that things are indeed on the right track.
Let’s hope for the best then
Yes and let’s hope they Saab hasn’t been fleeced over the terms of the deal.
Great News from Saab.
And you don’t have to credit anybody for this piece of news, hear that BoeBoe.
lol!
I think we should credit V Muller 😉
Excellent, nice to start the day like this.
Saab up!
Wow, they are on an actual short-term payment schedule now. This is huge!!
Excellent news!! Starting to see some light at the end of the tunnel.
SAAB’s heart is still beating.
+1
+1 🙂
You can not spell VICTORY without the letters V-i-c-t-o-r, as in Victor M.
So…when mr. Muller does somethin very typical of him it is very Victor-y of him… ? Nice 🙂
Griffin’s up again and rising… Best press release of Saab in weeks.
Yes, it`s brilliant news, at last something positive and definite. But production has to re-start asap, 2012 is no good whatsoever – and I hope that the re-organisation will not result in cost-cutting materials – some in the 9-3 already look and feel cheap.
Tonymac
I can’t see production will not start this year.
A smile just crossed my face. Great news.
Griffin Upp 😉
I hope now at we on Saab can start productions soon !!!
So everyone who wants a wonderful car can order one now,And know when they will get it with their dealers, they have received a Swedish quality.
And it’s loyal Saab workers who built them and who believe in the brand and management!
…and loyal Saab owners! 🙂
And loyal Saab Dealers like me!!
We are the front line people who face the buying customers, after all the development, design, production and assembly, the final stage is for us the dealers to present all that to the customer. Is is fair to say that our moral, confidence and salary has been pretty damaged over that past year yet for some infectious reason we remain! It is the Saab ‘bug’ and yyou either have it or you do not. Some will wonder what the bug is but it can not be explained, if you have it then you understand it. And so, we the dealers… Read more »
Indeed ! My hat off to the tenacious SAAB dealers.
As one of your customers Martin, may I ask you to please do something about the signage left at your old premises – the derelict appearance does neither SAAB or Concept any favours.
Thank you Tony, Being based at Cardiff and just a lowly salesman I was unaware of that. I will pass that observation on to those that need to deal with it. A fair point made.
Once production starts we need to have local TV News Shows do a story like a visit to a dealership. I certainly would like to do a spot as I have done this before. This goes for Canada too.
Production needs to start next week not next year.
+1
+1!!
good news indeed. but i hate new plan, A new plan will cause many condition change, A new plan will spend more time. Time means money. A new plan means a continue loosing of SAAB brand value. A new plan means suppliers and dealers will crazy!
It’s better to have a plan than no plan at all.
I plan on getting a new Saab.
Pfffffff……finally the first injection did come in.
Now the big shot and then…….plans guys; the plans for the restart of production on the table while without cash flow by selling products this savings operation will not happen again.
Saab up
Dealers up
Customers up
Great news!
Finally something positive…
Now I can hope for my new 9-3 (or whatever they will call it), iQon and all…
🙂 🙂 🙂
Thank God and anyone else involved. Saab will move foreward . Please do well and right . Spend OUR money wisely and lets get some parts over here to the U.S. to repair our loyal customers cars.
That was quite a job by Muller. To persude a company that the administrator had tried to freeze out of the deal on the weekend to pay up enough money to pay the staffs wages for a month is yet another triumph of negoiation. No matter what anyone thinks of him, Muller is certainly the man in a tight corner. Unless of course, Youngman have already been tipped off that the NRDC deal won’t go through and because they have now paid an official deposit on the PhoeniX platform, they will get it on a platter if Saab then do… Read more »
gawdlpus,
as ryanonsrc wrote yesterday, the two bottles of champagne are for the YES from the NDRC and for the production re-start. Since then we will simply feel happy that Saab has survived another day. 😉
Gawdplus you are absolutely correct- If the chinee govt say NO the platform has been aquired VERY CHEAP indeed- If they say YES I only hope there are more investors coming in – I still believe its going to take 1 billion euros plus for the next 5yrs – long way to go from here- are Pang Da/Youngman in for this type of mega investment?? Im not so sure… Still much work to be done – but good news no the less
Since we don’t know the details of the platform deal, we don’t know to what extent Youngman have acquired it, or rather the rights to use it.
I would imagine that Lofalk have put up a brave fight to avoid too much drainage of Assets from Saab
Youngman/Pang Da has the money necessary or are able to raise them if they want to.
But everything still depends on NDRC.
I expect a Yes, but that is just my expectations
Could anyone know where is youngman’money from? According to my knowledge, it seems does not generate revenues from bus sales
Could you give us a source for your assumption?
i don’t know either… but i ask myself one thing…
why mr. V. A.’s money was not good enough… and that is… but… i don’t care
as long as Saab survives…
anyway… i hope V. A. has not given up to invest…
from my very personal view, if V.A really want SAAB, he could prepaid cars like Youngman & Pang Da did in April, to keep production line running. according his ability, he can do better than Youngman, for example, he can prepaid 5000 cars. and now? SAAB lost millions of money because production line stop. so i think if Youngman can bring enough money, forget V.A. A simple owner structure is better for a small company like SAAB. SAAB can move faster. I recommend Youngman 100% own SAAB. If Mr.Muller refuse. Let SweGov in, buy out EIB. I think this will… Read more »
And what wold V.A. done with the cars he ordered? Saab already had/has a Russian distributor in place, and even if he was to resell them, he’d have to get Saab cars certified by the government for export, and he’d have to get licenses for resale… Too much work for a fickle amount of orders that wouldn’t do a thing for the production line.
he doesn’t need get those cars, the money can be turn to loan. and SAAB can use that money keep production line running. then that 15,000 cars in order book can be made, deliver to customers, 9-5 SportWagon can roll in to production, then dealers can continue sell cars to their customers. then SAAB can pay back V.A.
Even if 750M come to SAAB today, can SAAB restart production line immediately? or just pay salaries, pay suppliers, pay bankers, pay others. then out of money. then continue wait other 245M invests from chinese.
To survie from hell, SAAB must build cars.
As a chinese, i think Youngman’s financial capacity is as good as Geely, maybe better than Geely.Because Youngman is family owned. according the law, Youngman is no need to publish it’s financial information. Youngman’s bus & coach business are very good and profitable. From my own experience, you can seen Youngman made long-distance buses in almost all long -distance bus stations and highways in china. and Geely, i don’t seen so much. and bus business is profitable than car business. but Geely is list company in Hong Kong Stock, they can financing through the issuance of shares. for Youngman, i… Read more »
fido,
thank you for your POV directly from Chinese ground. I think it is not easy for western people to fully understand how things work over there. And also thank you for replying to what seems to be a FUD-writer.
Another good to read pressrelease.
I will will pick up my 9-3 SC in Jet black tomorrow.
Nor myself or my wife can wait to get a test drive of the 9-5 SC and the 9-4X to possibly replace our 9-5 (old generation ) SC. Unfortunately it will most likely mean the same as now, that my wife still will keep the SAAB as “her” car and let me stick with my car (eventhough it is not bad at all but it just do not have have that thing that some of us just love, THE SAAB something which just is there)
Where do you live? There is possibilities to try the SAAB 9-4x on a few places and its a great car!!
I’ve seem that on blocket.se you can even buy/order one.
The two 9-4X I can find on blocket.se is located in USA but can be order for you so it’s a little hard to test drive it in Sweden before buying it 😉
Yes, But there is a few dealers in Sweden that has the 9-4x for test driving.
KarlR, Where can I test drive a 9-4X. I Would love to do that!
There is one in Dalarna(Borlänge) and one in Stockholm that I know about. Might be somewhere else aswell.
The production start should be well publized with the press and journos. The world out there should know that Saab is back and running. PR and advertising will be one of the backbones for further sales. Hats off to all those dealers out there.
Well atleast I sitll got a job