A surprising development has followed the announcement of automotive giants Saab's request to file for bankruptcy. It turns out that when things didn't work out for China's Zhejiang Youngman Lotus Automobile, Turkish companies began to show interest. Sweden's State Television Station SVT wrote, "The Turkish Embassy, the Swedish Ministry of Industry and the bankruptcy committee are in deliberations."
Officials at the embassy have since verified the news. The Stockholm Embassy's Trade Undersecretary Murat Ertekin explained that Victor Mullen, the CEO of the Dutch company Swedish Automobiles, which has a majority share in Saab, paid a visit to the embassy on December 14th. They held an hour and a half meeting where Muller shared the information that before he paid this visit, they had also been in dialogue with other Turkish private sector representatives. Ertekin did not reveal any names and stated, "We are not taking an initiative as the Turkish Republic government; we are just offering assistance according to requests made by the private sector."
'Saab could be interesting for you'
Turkey's Stockholm Ambassador Zergün Korutürk explained that Saab's General Manager Muller had requested the meeting. The Ambassador said that the general manager suggested that Saab could be interesting for Turkey and explained that he had relayed the proposal to Ankara. After Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan made a call for a 'domestic automobile', businessman Alphan Manas had stated that Turkey could purchase Saab and that one of his partners had even met with General Motors.
'Turkey is taking a lead role'
Europe Automotive Manufacturers Trade Union CEO Lars Holmqvist is another person who has confirmed that Turkey is indeed interested in Saab. Noting that Turkey shows great interest in the automotive sector, Holmqwist states, "Turkey wants to invest in this sector in order to become a strong automobile manufacturer in Europe." Holmqwist went on to state,"Turkey, which has intentions to have their own vehicle brand, would be able to reach that goal through purchasing Saab."
They started off with planes
Founded in 1907, aircraft and automobile brand Saab, began producing in 1946. In 1949, Saab released their first manufacture on the market, the Saab 92. In 1969, Saab and truck producers Scania-Vabis AB joined under the name Saab Scania AB. In 1990, Saab was restructured as the independent Saab Automobile AB with 50 percent share investments by AB and General Motors. Saab was then sold to Swedish Automobile by General Motors.
'GM is responsible for bankruptcy'
Saab's CEO Muller blames Saab's firmer owners General Motors for the firm going bankrupt. "GM refused all of our proposals made to ensure we did not go bankrupt." Muller also stated that it was GM's stance that caused China's Zhejlang Youngman to reclaim the financial resources pledged for Saab's reorganization.
30,000 autos sold
Last year, Saab sold just 30,000 vehicles. Saab's applying for bankruptcy means that approximately 3,500 jobs will be lost. The majority of those were employed at Saab's Trollhattan factory. Specialists state that it will be impossible for the firm to continue production in Sweden due to the high cost of labor.