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New Yprk - General Motors Co is pressing ahead with plans to shut down Saab, though it will continue to hear bids for the Swedish car brand, a company spokesperson said.
on Tom Wilkinson said Wednesday the automaker is not commenting on reports that a deadline for proposals for Saab has been extended to January 7. GM had previously said it was giving bidders until Thursday to come forward with an offer for Saab until it decided earlier this month that it would wind down the brand.
"During the wind down process we've heard from a number of people with proposals for Saab, and we're going to evaluate the proposals as we start the wind down," Wilkinson said.
Saab spokesperson Gunilla Gustavs said GM's decision to wind down Saab still stands, though it will still entertain bids. Dec. 31 is "no longer a magical date" where a GM decision should be expected, Gustavs said.
GM has been in talks to sell Saab over the last month with Dutch exotic car maker Spyker Cars. It has also heard from other suitors after an attempt to sell the brand to a consortium led by Swedish sports car manufacturer by Koenigsegg Automotive AB fell apart in November.
A Spyker spokeperson said that the Dutch carmaker remained in talks with GM over Saab as of Wednesday but no deal had yet been reached.
On December 18, GM announced its intention to close down the storied Swedish brand. Saab employs about 3 400 people worldwide, most of whom work at its main plant in Trollhattan, Sweden. The brand also has some 1 100 dealers.
GM is eliminating Saab along with Pontiac, Hummer and Saturn as part of a restructuring plan that will leave it with four core brands: Chevrolet, Cadillac, GMC and Buick.
Spyker is a niche company that manufactures a small number of exotic sports cars that fetch $200 000 or more. Last year, the company produced just 43 vehicles and lost €24.8m.
- Sapa
