Rescue hopes fade as GM chief insists 'we're closing Saab'

GENERAL Motors sent its clearest signal yet yesterday that none of the bidders for Saab had submitted an offer that would prompt the carmaker to reverse a decision to shut down the Swedish luxury brand. "We're closing down Saab," GM chairman and acting chief executive Ed Whitacre said at the Detroit car show. "We're winding it down."

GM vice-chairman Bob Lutz said the firm would press ahead with closing down Saab unless a new bid emerged that was "financially better for us".

GM hired AlixPartners, the restructuring firm that helped GM through its government-backed bankruptcy last year, to handle the wind-down of Saab.

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Saab has been consistently unprofitable in the 20 years that it has been controlled by GM.

Lutz said the US company had been wrong to assume that "something would come along" to change its financial performance. "For years GM has been procrastinating when it comes to Saab," he said. "I'm glad to see that for once GM is sticking with a decision to wind something down."

Lutz said that any bidder now had a limited time to come forward with an offer that would cause GM to reverse its decision.

"We're listening," he said.

Saab, which GM has controlled since 1989, posted a loss of $340 million (210m) in 2008 and is projected to post a similar loss this year.

GM's attempts to integrate the brand into its global line-up limited Saab's appeal to enthusiasts, who liked its early hatchback styling and turbo engines.

Dutch luxury carmaker Spyker last week said it had submitted an improved bid for Saab.

Saab has about 3,400 emplyees in Sweden. It sold about 93,000 cars in 2008, about 1 per cent of GM's global sales volume.