Saab Signs Joint Venture With Chinese Car Distributor Pangda
Saab appears to have yet again found a savior in China, announcing a joint venture with Pangda Automobile Trade Co., the largest distributor of vehicles in the world’s largest car market.
The deal will see Pangda purchase 30 million Euros ($42.5 million) in Saab vehicles, with a second purchase of 15 million Euros ($21 million) to follow. Later on, Pangda will provide 65 million Euros ($92 million) in funding, resulting in a 24 percent equity stake in the Swedish automaker. These investments solve Saab’s cash flow problems for the immediate future and will be enough to get production back on line.
Several other proposals with Chinese partners in the past few weeks have fallen through, reportedly due to a lack of approval by the Chinese government. According to Saab/Spyker CEO Victor Muller, the deal with Pangda should go much more smoothly as it is not a car manufacturer, but a distributor, and therefore the same strict rules do not apply. Last week a deal with China’s Hawtai fell through while rumored talks with another automaker, Great Wall, were later denied.
[Source: Reuters]
With AutoGuide from its launch, Colum previously acted as Editor-in-Chief of Modified Luxury & Exotics magazine where he became a certifiable car snob driving supercars like the Koenigsegg CCX and racing down the autobahn in anything over 500 hp. He has won numerous automotive journalism awards including the Best Video Journalism Award in 2014 and 2015 from the Automotive Journalists Association of Canada (AJAC). Colum founded Geared Content Studios, VerticalScope's in-house branded content division and works to find ways to integrate brands organically into content.
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