Saab is now able to pay its staff following an order for more than 500 cars from an unnamed Chinese company.
The troubled Swedish car maker has now received a 13 million euro (£11.5m) advance payment for 582 vehicles. The money will allow parent firm Swedish Automobile to pay Saab’s employees and make partial payments to employers, yet the money is not enough for production to be restarted.
The deal works out at an average cost of 22,337 euro (£19,846) per vehicle. The lowest price Saab currently on sale in the UK is the £21,505 Saab 9-3 SE 2.0t saloon.
Swedish Automobile said that it was also in talks with other parties as its attempts to secure further short-term funding, although it could give “no assurance that these discussions will be successful or that additional short-term funding will be obtained”.
Discussions between Swedish Automobile and real estate firms over the sale and lease back of its Trollhattan production plant and its other properties were ongoing, said the firm.
“The management of Saab Automobile is deeply committed to the company and its employees,” said Saab and Swedish Automobile chief Victor Muller. “I respect the decision of the union members to resign from the board of Saab Automobile. We very much regret the current cash shortage which is causing undeserved hardship to all and we are working relentlessly to resolve the current situation.
“We hope to secure additional short-term funding, necessary to reach agreement with all of our suppliers to restart production, soon.”
Muller also said Vladimir Antonov’s attempts to invest funds into Saab were ongoing and he could “provide much needed financing and/or capital to Swedish Automobile/Saab Automobile at this critical time”.
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