- 09 Aug 12, 07:55#315384
A suit has been lodged against GM by Spyker, the Dutch sports car company and parent business of the all-but-dead Saab. GM is purported to have deliberately sabotaged a possible sale of Saab to Chinese investors, which pressured the long-time Swedish auto company into bankruptcy.
Spyker files suit over continuing drama
Saab struggled for a few years before its bankruptcy because of all the terrible sales. It does not matter how long a company is in business or how well-known they are if they cannot sell cars. Saab is known for its safety and distinctive fastback on its cars.
Danish sports car company Spyker is suing General Motors for $3 billion in damages for supposedly sabotaging a deal it had to sell Saab off to two Chinese corporations. Saab was bought in 2010 by Spyker and was bought from GM. General Motors owned Saab for quite a while but had to sell off Saab when it went through serious bankruptcy.
Intellectual property at core of dispute
According to the lawsuit, GM kept Pang Da Automobile Trade Co. and Zhejian Youngman Lotus Automotive from funding Saab. It might be true since GM may not want its engineering and technology in the hands of a Chinese car maker. Most of the more recent Saab models have the General Motors technology in them, according to AutoBlog.
However, a tentative plan, called the Framework Agreement within the negotiations, would have made any GM technology or design out-of-bounds for any brand new vehicles developed. New automobiles would be developed using the Saab PhoeniX concept car as a framework. However, GM said that since there was a modicum of General Motors influence on the PhoeniX, the deal needed approval from GM, which General Motors was not going to give. When that happened, Youngman lost interest and Saab went bankrupt. Spyker alleges Saab would have been a viable company otherwise and the action was illegal, hence the lawsuit.
Saab revival
Soon, a consortium with Spyker and Saab in it called National Electric Vehicle Sweden AB will start producing electric vehicles. Saab was not selling a lot of automobiles though, so it does not make sense to try and revive the business. Soon, you may start seeing Saab electric automobiles out there.
In 2009, according to Businessweek, only 8,680 Saab vehicles were sold in the United States, with another 25,093 in Europe. The next year was worse, according to AutoBlog, as Saab sales slumped even further to 5,445 in 2010 for the United States. In the first 10 months of 2011, according to CNN, Saab had only sold 4,612 vehicles in the United States. The brand was dying, which makes it all the more puzzling why General Motors would care about letting others take over and furthermore, why anybody would want to.
Spyker files suit over continuing drama
Saab struggled for a few years before its bankruptcy because of all the terrible sales. It does not matter how long a company is in business or how well-known they are if they cannot sell cars. Saab is known for its safety and distinctive fastback on its cars.
Danish sports car company Spyker is suing General Motors for $3 billion in damages for supposedly sabotaging a deal it had to sell Saab off to two Chinese corporations. Saab was bought in 2010 by Spyker and was bought from GM. General Motors owned Saab for quite a while but had to sell off Saab when it went through serious bankruptcy.
Intellectual property at core of dispute
According to the lawsuit, GM kept Pang Da Automobile Trade Co. and Zhejian Youngman Lotus Automotive from funding Saab. It might be true since GM may not want its engineering and technology in the hands of a Chinese car maker. Most of the more recent Saab models have the General Motors technology in them, according to AutoBlog.
However, a tentative plan, called the Framework Agreement within the negotiations, would have made any GM technology or design out-of-bounds for any brand new vehicles developed. New automobiles would be developed using the Saab PhoeniX concept car as a framework. However, GM said that since there was a modicum of General Motors influence on the PhoeniX, the deal needed approval from GM, which General Motors was not going to give. When that happened, Youngman lost interest and Saab went bankrupt. Spyker alleges Saab would have been a viable company otherwise and the action was illegal, hence the lawsuit.
Saab revival
Soon, a consortium with Spyker and Saab in it called National Electric Vehicle Sweden AB will start producing electric vehicles. Saab was not selling a lot of automobiles though, so it does not make sense to try and revive the business. Soon, you may start seeing Saab electric automobiles out there.
In 2009, according to Businessweek, only 8,680 Saab vehicles were sold in the United States, with another 25,093 in Europe. The next year was worse, according to AutoBlog, as Saab sales slumped even further to 5,445 in 2010 for the United States. In the first 10 months of 2011, according to CNN, Saab had only sold 4,612 vehicles in the United States. The brand was dying, which makes it all the more puzzling why General Motors would care about letting others take over and furthermore, why anybody would want to.