Saab has entered into a “strategic partnership” with Chinese Hawtai Motor Group, who plan to invest billions of kronor into the Swedish firm, it was announced on Tuesday.
The partnership with the Hawtai followed an announcement on Monday that Saab had secured short-term cash of €30 million ($44 million) to restart production within a week.
The agreement secures funding of €150 million for the cash-strapped Swedish firm. The deal is a joint venture and spans production, technology and distribution,” Spyker Cars said in a statement.
“Our partnership with Hawtai secures our medium term financing and this gives Saab Automobile a chance to enter the Chinese market. This also establishes a technology partnership with a strong Chinese car manufacturer,” Saab chairperson Victor Muller said.
Hawtai is set to invest €120 million in Spyker Cars which in return will secure a maximum of 29.9 percent of the shares in the firm.
The remaining €30 million will be provided in the form of convertible loans for a period of six months and at an interest rate of 7 percent.
The confirmation of the partnership sent Spyker Cars’ stock up 18 percent on the Amsterdam stock exchange on Tuesday morning.
“With Hawtai’s technology for clean diesel engines and its production capacity as well as the firm’s ambitious development programme we have found the right partner for the development of Saab and build a strong cooperation,” Muller said.
Richard Zhang, Hawtai vice chairperson, in turn regards the Saab brand as an “icon” among cars.
“This gives us access to innovative technology and an international network which would otherwise have taken us decades to build up. This is a big day for a relatively young company which was formed only ten years ago,” he said.
According to a Saab source cited by the Dagens Industri daily, Hawtai will begin manufacturing Saab cars in a factory in inner Mongolia.
