Back in the fall, General Motors was desperate to sell Saab to just about anyone with a few hundred million dollars and (hopefully) some car-making knowledge. Chinese automaker BAIC repeatedly came up as a potential bidder for the company, but in the end it appeared China's fifth largest automaker was only interested in buying up some aging pieces (see: outgoing Saab 9-3 and 9-5) of the Swedish automaker. Dutch specialty car maker Spyker eventually picked up Saab for a song, but it appears the ultra luxury car maker could have a very interested donor from the home of the Great Wall.

The Associated Press reports that BAIC CEO **** Dazong told Swedish business daily Dagens Industri that his company has "a durable interest in deepening our partnership with Saab and we are ready to invest in the company." BAIC had even already reportedly signed a contract to begin selling Saab models through its dealer network in China.

We're not sure why BAIC wasn't able to reach a deal with GM to purchase Saab, but it appears the Chinese automaker is still very interested in deepening its ties with the Swedish automaker now that The General is out of the picture. And if Saab wants to increase sales by 120,000 and make a profit by 2012, we're thinking added exposure to the quickly expanding China market could be a very good thing.


Gallery: 2010 Saab 9-5




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