what happened to saab

Saab was a Swedish car manufacturer that began as an airplane manufacturer in 1937. Saab started producing cars in 1949 and became known for their innovative features such as factory-installed seatbelts. In 1968, Saab merged with Scania-Vabis, and Saab-Scania was born. In 1989, Saab cars separated from Saab-Scania and became its own business, Saab Automobile. US carmaker General Motors (GM) bought 50% of the Saab cars company to. However, GM had poorly managed the company, with limited cash to develop new products and insisting that new models be built on GM platforms. The 2009 economic crash and GM’s bankruptcy spelled doom for Saab. A sale to Koenigsegg fell through at the last minute. Dutch carmaker Spyker acquired Saab in 2010 in a deal that saw GM retain over $300 million in preferred shares. That stake would soon come into play as GM blocked an offer from a Chinese manufacturer to become Saab’s largest investor. With that deal dead, Saab Automobile finally declared bankruptcy in December 2011. Saab Automobile was sold to Spyker Cars N.V. in 2010 after a deal between Spyker and then-current owner General Motors. After struggling to avoid insolvency, Saab filed for bankruptcy in December 2011. Saab no longer produces cars, but the company still exists as a defense and security company.