Victor Muller
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Sports car manufacturer Spyker, the parent company of bankrupt automaker Saab, has announced today it has formed a new alliance with Youngman, the Chinese automaker whose attempted purchase of Saab late last year was blocked by General Motors. Under the new alliance deal, which won’t be finalized until Youngman completes its due diligence, Youngman will invest 10 million euros (approximately $12.5 million) in Spyker, the bulk of which will be used to purchase shares in Spyker and the rest provided as a loan. If all goes to plan, Spyker and Youngman will then form a joint venture to be...
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Victor Muller Looking To Launch New Spykers
Following the demise of Saab, Victor Muller, the boss of Saab’s parent Swedish Automobile and the man credited with starting Dutch sports car manufacturer Spyker, has given up his ambitions of running a major international automaker and is instead focused on building exclusive sports cars...
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Saab Receives Funding From America’s North Street Capital
Saab has announced today that it has received a commitment from American private equity firm North Street Capital for a cash payment before the October 22 deadline to pay off part of its bridge loans, once again helping the struggling automaker stave off bankruptcy. The cash will be awarded to Saab...
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Saab Denied Bankruptcy Protection By Swedish Court, Attempting Appeal
After months of failed funding negations and ceased production, Saab, along with its Saab Powertrain and Saab Tools subsidiaries, announced this week that it had filed for voluntary bankruptcy protection with the District Court in Vanersborg, Sweden. However, the court has rejected Saab’s...
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Saab Posts $322 Million First Half Loss
Saab has taken yet another step, this time a major one, towards what’s shaping up to be an inevitable bankruptcy, with news coming out today that the struggling Swedish automaker posted a $322 million loss for the first six months of 2011. The latest figure is four times the amount Saab lost...
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Saab To Restart Production In August, Finalizes Real Estate Deal
Saab looks to be almost back in business, with the automaker announcing this week the finalization of yet another cash injection deal as well as a tentative August date for the restart of production at its main plant in Trollhattan, Sweden. Saab has announced that it has obtained final approval...
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Spyker CEO Victor Muller has been busy in China negotiating a deal with Zhejian Youngman Lotus Automobile to start building Saab cars in the world’s most populous nation. You may recall that Saab already has a deal with Chinese dealer group Pang Da Automobile but now all three parties have signed a new non-binding memorandum of understanding (MoU) that will see some $350 million injected into Saab's coffers. The latest deal will see Youngman invest $195 million in Saab in return for a 29 percent in Saab’s parent company, Spyker, while Pang Da will increase its original investment...
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Saab Restarts Production, Future Remains Uncertain
Saab has a trio of decent products now in showrooms, the latest-generation 9-5, a brand new 9-4X crossover and the recently updated 9-3, although the latter is soon to be replaced by a completely redesigned model next year. But given the brand’s lack of stability over the years, including a...
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Spyker Secures Deal With China’s Pangda Over Saab
Just days after it was revealed that negations with Chinese automaker Hawtai over a rescue plan for Saab had broken down, the Swedish automaker’s parent Spyker Cars has now announced that it's reached a new deal with rival Chinese firm Pangda Automobile Trade Co Ltd, one of China’s...
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Saab Rescue Deal With China’s Hawtai Terminated
The last we heard, production at Saab’s plants back home in Sweden had come to a halt due to a lack of funds and fears that the automaker’s new parent, Spyker Cars, was also close to being bankrupt. In response, the CEO of Spyker, Victor Muller, set out on a quest to acquire desperately...
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Saab Seeks New CEO, Considers Building Cars For Rival Firms
This past week Saab CEO Jan Ake Jonsson announced that he would be leaving his post, nearly 40 years after he first joined the company. In his place is Saab chairman Victor Muller who will look after the helm until a suitable replacement can be found. Muller, as you may recall, is the man behind...
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First Details On 2012 Saab 9-3
Now that the 2010 Saab 9-5 has finally made production and being delivered to showrooms all across the country, attention turns to Saab’s other models, all of which are crucial to the long-term viability of the brand. Coming up on the horizon is the new 9-4X crossover, which is already in...
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The long-winded story of Saab's sale finally came to a close this year, with the brand born from jets adding a propeller to the mix in the form of Dutch sports car company Spyker, which reached a deal to purchase the struggling Swedish automaker from GM. With Saab now in the relatively safe hands of Spyker, the partnership is taking another turn, with Spyker CEO Victor Muller revealing plans to sell the brand’s exotic sports cars through Saab dealerships. The move will effectively double the number of dealerships Spyker cars are currently sold in around the world and in the process get the...
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Report: SAAB Could Break Even With Just 80,000 Sales
Saab has had one of the most turbulent recent histories in the auto industry, being bought up by GM, then almost sold to a Chinese automaker and finally ending up in the hands of Spyker--all while losing hundreds of millions of dollars each year. Saab’s latest owner is Spyker, a niche sports car...
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Victor Muller: New SAAB 9-2 On The Drawing Board
Forget all of your bad memories of the ‘Saabaru’ 9-2X mongrel of the past decade because Saab is working on a brand new 9-2, one that will be all Saab and one that will draw inspiration from the original 92 model of the 1950s. Victor Muller, the CEO of Spyker and savior of Saab, has revealed...
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SAAB Resumes Production, New 9-5 First Off The Line
Saab is back in business. The production lines at the automaker’s plant in Trollhattan, Sweden began rolling again today and to mark the occasion the CEOs of Saab and new owner Spyker, Jan Ake Jonsson and Victor Muller, were on hand to watch the first batch of cars being built. Production at...
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SAAB Looking To Share Technology With Other Firms
With Saab now in the dubious hands of niche sports car manufacturer Spyker, the once proud Swedish automaker is now on a slow journey towards rebuilding credibility and financial security. To reestablish itself as a prominent automotive brand, Saab is planning to launch a host of new models...
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Entry-Level SAAB 9-1 Back On The Table
With Lexus unveiling the new CT 200h and Infiniti bosses confirming plans for an all-electric compact car of their own, Saab is wary of becoming one of the only premium automakers without a model to compete in what’s quickly becoming a new frontier for the luxury marques: the premium compact...
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