Koenigsegg Buys Saab

General Motors has just confirmed that Koenigsegg will be the new owner of Swedish manufacturer Saab, with the deal expected to close by the end of the third quarter. The European Investment Bank (EIB) will provide $600 million financing with state guarantee by the Swedish government, but additional support will also come from the luxury sports car manufacturer.

According to details of the memorandum of understanding, Koenigsegg will help Saab launch new products which are currently in the final stages of development and are supposed to help the Swedish ailing brand get back in business. We thought it quite interesting that a car company with many successes which has been in business for over sixty years needed assistance from a newcomer like Koenigsegg.

In 1939 Saab was an airplane company, but when the War was coming to an end, Saab began shifting their strategies and began to manufacture an automobile. Project 92 was introduced in 1947 as the first prototype for SAAB, and became the later production model "92" inspired by the SAAB J21 plane. By 1976, Saab produced it's one millionth automobile.

Koenigsegg's beginning's came a bit more recently...1994 in fact. Our About.com colleague and exotic car expert Kristen Hall-Geisler was kind enough to give us an insight into Saab's new owner on her History of Koenigsegg Automotive page...read more.