Saab halts production until further notice

Swedish carmaker Saab said Wednesday it was suspending production until further notice pending the resolution of a conflict with suppliers over unpaid bills that has rendered supply unstable. "There is a production stop. We have decided that we don't want to have these stop-and-gos any more. It's not good for the whole production process," Saab spokesman Eric Geers told AFP. "We will resume production when we have come to an agreement that we expect soon," he added. Geers would not say how many suppliers had halted deliveries to Saab, but said the rate of deliveries was too unstable to ensure permanent production at the plant, with the company not having much stock of its own. The current production stop marks the first time since Saab was rescued at the last minute by Dutch company Spyker cars in January 2010 that it was forced to halt production without a set date for starting it up again. Last week, the company had already halted production three times as some suppliers halted deliveries over unpaid bills. On Monday, Saab and Spyker sought to reassure investors of the brand's financial health, with Spyker head Victor Muller describing current problems as "a small glitch." Saab chief executive Jan-Aake Jonsson, who unexpectedly announced last month he would be stepping down in May, said he saw "the situation improving shortly" at Saab. Geers said Wednesday Saab expected to secure additional funding soon. "But it's too early to say when we will come out with some news," he told AFP. Russian businessman Vladimir Antonov put in a request to Sweden's National Debt Office last week to invest in the carmaker. General Motors, a former Spyker shareholder, blocked Antonov from taking a stake in the company when they owned Saab. The National Debt Office, which has a say in ownership changes because it guaranteed a European Investment Bank (EIB) loan to Saab, said it would give its answer to Antonov in a few weeks. Antonov has said he was ready to invest 50 million euros ($70 million) in Saab. He wants to take a 30-percent stake in the company. Iconic Swedish carmaker Saab did not turn a profit in the 20 years it spent under General Motors, where its production of around 100,000 to 130,000 cars annually was negligible for the US auto giant. When Spyker bought the brand for 400 million dollars last year, Muller set out to sell 50,000 cars in 2010 but only sold 32,000.