BMW, Saab Talking Partnership To Build Saab 9-2, Reports Say
By Michelle Krebs June 11, 2010BMW and Saab are discussing parts and technology sharing for a new Saab 9-2 small car, 
according to media reports.
The potential partnership calls for BMW to provide Saab with engines, gearboxes and the Mini platform for Saab's much-needed small car, according to sources quoted by Bloomberg News, which added that talks were in the early stages and no agreement was imminent. An agreement would take at least two months, one source told Bloomberg.
The rumors of a BMW-Saab partnership have been in the media in The Netherlands, where Saab's new owner Spyker is headquartered, and Saab's homeland of Sweden.
In an interview at the Geneva auto show, Spyker CEO Victor Muller told AutoObserver that now that Saab is no longer owned by General Motors, it is free to negotiate with companies across the globe for alliances. He said at the time there was significant interest in companies linking with Saab. Muller, refusing to confirm talks with BMW specifically, told Bloomberg Thursday that Saab is "talking to various parties" about sharing technology as a way to lower costs. BMW isn't confirming such talks either.
Saab is in need of a premium small car like the 9-2, a model that was produced between 1949 and 1956. Muller said in Geneva that the company did not yet have funding for the 9-2. It has funding to restart production of the Saab factories and launch the Saab 9-5 flagship. -- Michelle Krebs, Senior Analyst and Editor at Large
Photo by BMW/Mini
The Mini Cooper could serve as the basis for a future Saab 9-2.
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