Chinese car company still interested in buying Saab
(November 30, 2009) Reuters reports that Beijing Automotive Industry Holding Corp. might still be interested in buying Saab, the Chinese car company's general manager said.
Asked by reporters whether BAIC would consider approaching General Motor Co.'s Saab as a solo buyer or only as a part of a consortium, Wang Dazong said: "I would just say, 'stay tuned a little bit.' "
Speaking on the sidelines of a China-European Union business summit, Wang said BAIC's strategy of going global was still in place.
"For us, I don't see a need to buy a plant. I don't see a need to buy a building. I don't see a need to buy a robot. So what's left? You figure it out," he said.
BAIC must decide its next move after a consortium of which it was a member, led by Koenigsegg Group AB, group of private investors including tiny Swedish super car maker Koenigsegg Automotive AB, pulled out of talks last week to buy Saab, putting in doubt the future of the money-losing GM unit.
"I cannot control GM's timetable," Wang said. "I would just say we are very dynamic and impatient people. We want to do things fast."