Beijing Auto official says 'stay tuned' on Saab

ERJ staff report (AN)

Nanjing, China (Reuters) -- Beijing Automotive Industry Holding Corp. might still be interested in buying Saab, the Chinese car company's general manager said on Monday.

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.

BAIC must decide its next move after a consortium of which it was a member, led by tiny Swedish supercar maker Koenigsegg, pulled out of talks last week to buy Saab, putting in doubt the future of the money-losing GM unit.

"I obviously have no way of influencing GM's timetable," Wang said. "I would just say we are very dynamic and impatient people. We want to do things fast."

China slowdown

Turning to China's sizzling domestic auto market, Wang said it was natural to have a slowdown after a 45 percent surge in industrywide sales so far this year, powered in part by aggressive tax breaks on fuel-efficient cars and other subsidies.

"We would certainly like to encourage the incentive program to continue. All the indications are that it is moving in that direction," he said. "But this year had tremendous growth, so normally there is a little bit of hangover, so it may impact next year's volume in the industry."

Vice Commerce Minister Jiang Zengwei said over the weekend that the government would expand schemes that give consumers a discount if they trade in old cars for new ones.

Wang described BAIC's outlook as "cautiously optimistic". He said the automaker was aiming for 30 percent sales growth next year, outpacing an expected industry average of 10 percent.

From Automotive News (A Crain publication)