As expected, Spyker and its subsidiary Saab have announced a new partnership with China’s Hawtai Motor Group Company Limited. The news comes just one day after Spyker secured short-term financing to re-open Saab’s Trallhattan production plant.
Per the terms of the deal Hawtai will invest 120 million euros in Spyker, giving the Chinese automaker a 29.9 percent stake in the company. Hawtai will also back a 30 million euro convertible loan with a six month maturity and an interest rate of seven percent.
“The partnership with Hawtai allows Saab Automobile on the one hand to continue executing its business plan since we secured the required mid-term financing subject to meeting certain conditions, whilst on the other hand it allows Saab Automobile to enter the Chinese car market and establish a technology partnership with a strong Chinese manufacturer,” Spyker and Saab head Victor Muller said.
Saab will likely use Hawtai’s dealership network to enter the Chinese market, with local production of Saab vehicles almost a certainty. On the other hand, Hawtai indicated it would be using Saab’s global dealer network and vehicle technology to sell its vehicles outside of China.
“The partnership with the iconic Saab brand will give us access to innovative technologies and an international network which would have taken us decades to build,” Mr Richard Zhang, Vice President of Hawtai, said. “On the other hand we have a very strong Chinese manufacturing and distribution infrastructure which we will make available to our new partner Saab Automobile.”
Hawtai, which was founded in 2000, has two Chinese production plants and specializes in clean diesel technology. Hawtai currently has the capacity to produce 350,000 vehicles, 300,000 diesel engines and 450,000 automatic transmissions annually, but hopes to boost those capacities to 1 million by 2015.
