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Spyker files $3 billion lawsuit against General Motors over Saab's demise

"Smack." That's the sound of Spyker's process server dropping a big ol' pile of legal documents on the doorstep of The Renaissance Center, home of General Motors - or wherever GM's attorneys live during business hours. Contained therein is a Complaint, filed in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Michigan and demanding a jury trial, that seeks $3 billion in damages due to "the unlawful actions GM took to avoid competition with Saab Automobile in the Chinese market." Spyker accuses GM of "tortiously interfering" with Saab's business relationship with Chinese automaker Zhejiang Youngman Lotus Automobile (Youngman), actions that Spyker CEO Victor Muller (above) said "deliberately drove Saab Automobile into bankruptcy."
(From Wikipedia: "Tortious interference, also known as intentional interference with contractual relations, in the common law of torts, occurs when a person intentionally damages the plaintiff's contractual or other business relationships.")
The interference in question specifically refers to the very last potential deal, called the Framework Agreement, that Spyker worked out with Youngman. With lots of GM engineering embedded into the 9-4X and 9-5, The General had the right to approve any Saab partnership that would involve the transfer of GM intellectual property. Spyker had been rebuffed over every previous deal with a Chinese firm, including two bids by Youngman, due to GM concerns over its IP getting into Chinese hands and having to face Chinese-market competitors using its technology. The Complaint alleges that the Framework Agreement would have put a firewall around all GM IP - Youngman would only work on Saab's Phoenix platform, said to be just about free of GM tech, and would have no access to 9-3, 9-4X or 9-5 technology until after Saab ceased all ties to GM.

Saab owners NEVS denied creditor protection by Swedish court

The story of Saab is practically a Greek tragedy at this point. The quirky Swedish automaker that was once known as a pioneer of affordable turbocharging has been followed by years of news that just seemed to keep getting worse. At this point, maybe the brand name should be allowed to fade away into the ether and be remembered for the good times that it gave us.
Saab's latest predicament is that its parent National Electric Vehicle Sweden (or NEVS) has been denied protection from its creditors by the Swedish courts. According to Reuters, the judges called the business' financing plan "vague and completely undocumented." A company spokesperson told Reuters that it plans to appeal.
Seemingly in reaction to the court's decision, NEVS posted a press release on its website announcing that the company had applied "for a reorganization to create more time for the ongoing negotiations." The automaker continues to claim that it's negotiating with two global automakers to sell a portion of the company, possibly Mahindra, but the process is taking longer than it originally predicted. It seems a distinct possibility that this reorganization attempt is simply a way to buy extra time.

Koenigsegg super cars team with Saab successor NEVS to go electric

STOCKHOLM — The Chinese-backed company born from the remnants of bankrupt Swedish automaker Saab is investing 150 million euros ($171 million) in a venture with Swedish super car brand Koenigsegg, in a move that could see them develop new electric models. National Electric Vehicle Sweden AB (NEVS), in which China's Evergrande Health recently became the majority investor, said it would take a 65 percent stake in a new joint venture to "develop a product for new and untapped segments." Koenigsegg will hold the rest, and contribute intellectual property, technology licenses and product design. The deal deepens China's exposure to Swedish automakers, with Geely owning Volvo Cars and the largest investor in truckmaker AB Volvo, and another Chinese investor having created NEVS in 2012 after buying the core assets and IP rights of Saab Automobile following its demise. NEVS, which owns production bases in Trollhattan in Sweden and Tianjin in China and plans another in Shanghai, has been trying to establish itself as a pure electric automaker, but has yet to produce a car. Evergrande Health's $930 million cash infusion into NEVS, announced this month, was seen as a second lifeline, giving it funds to develop costly electric vehicles and access to new auto technologies, where Evergrande is expanding. The Chinese firm is a unit of property developer China Evergrande Group and is a former investor in U.S. electric vehicle developer Faraday Future. Tuesday's deal will give NEVS a 20 percent stake in Koenigsegg and could potentially pave the way for it to begin delivering products to the market, with its loose partnership with Didi Chuxing, China's Uber, yet to yield anything concrete. "Koenigsegg is an enticing company developing advanced cars with unique technology and with a customer base that is one of a kind. ... We have both competencies and facilities to support Koenigsegg on their journey forward," NEVS Chairman Kai Johan Jiang said. Koenigsegg, backed by U.S. and Norwegian investors, sought to buy Saab after its 2011 collapse but the deal never materialized. While the luxury brand has built a plug-in hybrid, it has yet to develop a fully electric vehicle. Tesla's sales success in recent years has shown that a market for luxury electric cars exists, pushing traditional carmakers including Volkswagen's Audi and Porsche, and Tata Motors' Jaguar to develop their own versions.