Saab Parent Company Denied Bankruptcy Protection

2014 Saab Aero 9-3 Sedan (Credit: © Saab)

At this point, the tragic story of Saab is both incredibly sad and ridiculous. How one automaker can attract such a string of bad luck is anyone’s guess. It seems that the recent rumors of its owner, National Electric Vehicle Sweden (NEVS), going into bankruptcy are actually true, despite the denials from NEVS management. And so yet again Saab is in peril, leaving many to question if it’s time to just lay the brand to rest and remember the good ol’ days when the cars were born from jets, not financial ruin.

The big problem isn’t just that NEVS is going into bankruptcy, but that a Swedish court recently denied the company’s request to be sheltered from creditors and their efforts to collect money owed to them. Reuters is reporting that the judges who made the decision said the financials of NEVS “vague and completely undocumented.” That doesn’t sound good at all, but NEVS says it will appeal the decision.

In another repeat of Saab’s sad existence for the past several years, NEVS says that it needs protection from its creditors for just a little bit longer because it is deep in negotiations with two big automakers who supposedly are willing to purchase certain portions of the company. Something about those negotiations is taking longer than originally projected, which may or may not have something to do with the company about to be torn apart by suppliers and others it owes money. That line of creditors who are waiting to get paid isn’t short, either, now numbering over 90.

Does this mean that Saab is dead forever? Maybe, maybe not. It’s still possible the brand could be scooped up by yet another company. Considering how aggressive Volkswagen Group has been at buying up brands, perhaps it’s interested?