Formula 1 tycoon Bernie Ecclestone is part of a bid to take over struggling Swedish car maker Saab, the Independent reports.
The billionaire has teamed up with the Luxembourg-based investment company Genii Capital, which recently invested in Renault’s racing team.
Saab have been put up for sale by owner GM as part of a major restructuring operation, and a bid deadline passed yesterday.
The US car-making giant have been trying to sell Saab since January last year and …

Business Secretary Lord Mandelson remained upbeat about the future of Vauxhall’s British workforce despite the business being sold to Canadian firm Magna and the Kremlin-owned Russian Sberbank.
The sale of General Motors’ European operations has left the Vauxhall workforce concerned that the Ellesmere Port and Luton plants will close, the Independent reports. But last night Lord Mandelson said he was satisfied with the deal.
“I’m glad the immediate uncertainty about GM’s future has been removed,” he said. “We must …

General Motors said today that a consortium of Canada’s Magna International Inc. and Russian Sberbank would acquire a majority stake in their European subsidiary Opel; Sberbank are virtually owned by Kremlin.
GM said key issues—including support from labour unions and a financing package from the German government—would have to be finalized, but they expected the deal to close in the “next few months”, the AP reports.
Magna and Sberbank will purchase a 55-percent stake in Adam Opel …

General Motors (GM) are set to retain ownership of their European business, removing the short-term threat of thousands of job losses at Britain’s Vauxhall plants, The Times reports.
The US carmaker had been considering selling their European Opel and Vauxhall brands in the face of the worldwide downturn in new vehicle sales. An announcement is expected to made in Berlin later today, ending months of speculation about the future of the business.
GM’s board have held a …

The “new” General Motors which have emerged from bankruptcy are going to focus more on customers (who did they focus on before???) and they’re in partnership with eBay for people to buy vehicles by online auctions.
Company’s CEO Fritz Henderson said that the “new” GM will be far faster and more responsive to customers than the old one, and will make money and repay government loans faster than required, FoxNews reports.
Henderson promised that they will repay …

Interestingly, the recession has hit the producers of common cars – GM being the worst example; but supercar makers are continuing to do well.
Swedish supercar producer Koenigsegg have agreed to buy Saab from the bankrupt automaker General Motors, tentative agreement on the deal was signed today.
According to AFP, Koenigsegg have just 45 employees and produce 18 high-end sports cars a year, each of which cost over £845,000. In comparison, Saab employ about 3,400 people …