egmCarTech

A man named Baard Eker wants to give Saab its soul back. The Norwegian designer behind the bid for General Motors’ Saab says he wants to rejuvenate the “soul and spirit” of the profit-loosing Swedish brand. Eker, a Norwegian designer and entrepreneur bought a 45 percent stake in Koenigsegg in 2005 and currently owns 49 percent.

“Saab has to refine their quality level, their soul and spirit and we believe that this is something we can help with,” Eker told Reuters. ”The most interesting thing is that GM thinks the same.”

Eker did not provide any specific details on Koenigsegg’s negotiations with GM, but said that the private investors placed their faith and money in his Saab bid at a time of a credit crisis.

Asked whether a “greener” Saab is being pursued, Eker said: ”Obviously we have some ideas but it’s too early to talk about them … but environmental thinking is a very important thing in our view. That is something the smaller companies can more easily attend to because it is much quicker to turn around a smaller company.”

- By: Omar Rana

Source: Reuters

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