New Woes for Saab, Production Halted Again After Company Fails to Pay Suppliers

Less than a week after Saab idled its Trollhattan plant in Sweden for a few days due to a shortage of parts after failing to pay suppliers, the company once again halted production on Tuesday for the same exact reasons, despite solving the previous disputes.

"Production is stopped right now. It was stopped this morning," said Saab spokesperson Gunilla Gustavs. "We are working intensively to make sure the flow gets going again. We are having discussions with suppliers and doing our best to come to mutual agreements," Gustavs added.

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Saab Temporarily Halts Production After Suppliers Suspend Parts for Not Being Paid

In a sign of the possible problems brewing up at Saab, the Swedish firm was forced to temporarily halt production for a few hours at its plant on Tuesday as well as on Wednesday after component makers cut off deliveries to the factory because they hadn’t been paid.

“Certain suppliers halted supplies to Saab Automobile pending discussions about payments and supply terms,” Spyker said in a statement on Wednesday. “Saab Automobile expects to resolve these issues in the short term, also to prevent any further disruptions in supply. Saab Automobile has sufficient means to meet its immediate liquidity needs from existing and available sources,” the company added.

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SAAB CEO Jan Åke Jonsson to Retire, Victor Muller Takes Over Temporarily

Dutch automaker Spyker Cars NV announced on Friday that Saab Automobile’s Chief Executive Officer and President, Jan Åke Jonsson, has decided to step down from his position on 19 May, 2011. The company said that until a successor to the longtime Saab executive is found, Spyker Car’s CEO Victor Muller will temporarily assume the role of President and CEO of Saab Automobile AB in addition to his role as Chairman of the Board.

The 59-year old executive, who has worked for Saab for close to 40 years, took over the helm of the company in 2005 when it was still under the ownership of General Motors. Jonsson has been credited for playing a key role in the savior of Saab when the Detroit automaker wanted to close down the brand.

“I have been with Saab Automobile for almost my entire career of 40 years, of which almost six years as the head of Saab Automobile,” said Jonsson in a statement. “The last three years have of course been very demanding and forced me to focus on one thing only – my work. Now it is time for me to also spend some time on other things that had to stand back for my duties to Saab Automobile.”

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Spyker to Sell its Sportscar Business in Order to Focus on SAAB

Spyker Cars N.V., the Dutch owner of Saab, announced today that is has started negotiations to sell its sports car brand in order to focus on the development of premium car maker Saab, which it acquired one year ago from General Motors.

The Dutch company said it will sell the assets of its Spyker sportscar business to the UK-based CPP Global Holdings Limited, owned by Russian millionaire Vladimir Antonov. The terms of the deal include an initial purchase price of EUR15 million, plus a further EUR17 million to be paid from future earnings over a six-year period. The money will be used by Spyker Cars N.V. to reduce its debt.

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Spyker C8 Aileron Spyder world debut

Spyker sport car maker from Dutch has announced that their will build the new second generation C8 Aileron during 2009 Geneva International Motor Show. At the same venue the company announced it was developing a convertible Spyder model and this very car has now been unveiled at the 59th Pebble Beach Concours d'Elegance this Sunday.

The car is equipped with a 4.2 liter V8 engine which from an Audi, the C8 Aileron Spyder can make 298kW (405hp) and peak torque of 480Nm at 3400rpm. Its 0 - 60mph sprint time is stated as 4.5 seconds while top speed is 300km/h (187mph). The standard transmission is a 6-speed manual box but a new ZF 6-speed automatic is available as an option. Both transfer power to the rear wheels via a limited slip differential.

The Spyder is made of a light aluminium body construction and is differentiated through the new electro-hydraulic soft-top roof mechanism. The roof has a glass rear window and can be ordered in one of eight colours. Its exterior look is inspired by Spyker's heritage in aviation. Past front end design attributes dominated by the shark-like gills have been replaced by a cleaner look. The front grille is larger and the rear features LED lighting technology. Nineteen inch alloys are rolled inside 235/35 front tyres and rubber of up to 295/30 size at the rear. The body itself is available in 16 different colours while inside a choice of 14 leather colours will be sold. Buyers can of course customise their own colours should these not please them enough.



Aluminium is used extensively for the dashboard which houses a new in-car entertainment system led by the new exclusive Kharma sound system. Other features include iPod and Bluetooth connectivity as well as satellite navigation. Spyker has made the suspension stiffer for better handling but has also tuned it to minimise unwanted excessive cabin noise and vibration. Production of the C8 Aileron Spyder starts in the first half of 2010.