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BMW

Spyker confirms talks with BMW over Saab deal

Spyker Cars, the Dutch automaker that owns Sweden's Saab, confirmed on Monday that it was in talks with Germany's BMW, noting speculation about a "possible supply relationship."

Spyker confirms talks with BMW over Saab deal
The Saab 9-4X BioPower concept car

“The group confirms that talks are ongoing and will give further details once a final agreement has been reached,” Spyker said in a statement.

Dutch broadcaster NOS reported earlier on Monday that a deal should be signed on Wednesday for Saab to buy technology and parts from BMW.

“An announcement on cooperation will be made at the Saab factory in Trollhättan, Sweden, on Wednesday,” Saab’s Netherlands-based spokesman Dick Braakhekke told AFP.

He declined to elaborate on the nature of the cooperation, or with whom. The announcement will be made at a press conference Wednesday at 11.15am local time by Spyker CEO Victor Muller, Saab CEO Jan Åke Jonsson “and presumably someone from the other company,” Braakhekke said.

Spyker shares skyrocketed on the news, gaining 63.75 percent by 2.30pm to reach €3.93 ($5.30). Spyker, which has never made a profit since it was set up in 2000, acquired the much larger loss-making Saab from US auto giant General Motors in

February last year.

Spyker, a small specialist luxury sportscar maker before it bought Saab for close to $400 million dollars, said in August that Saab had sold 10,500 cars in the first half of 2010, down from 24,300 in the same period in 2009.

Saab hoped to sell 45,000 units for the year as a whole, rising to 80,000 next year, returning to profit in 2012 when it aims to sell 120,000.

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BMW

BMW to stop work in UK plant for two days due to Brexit

German luxury car manufacturer BMW will temporarily close its British plant in Oxford for two days around the current scheduled date for Brexit, a company executive revealed Tuesday.

BMW to stop work in UK plant for two days due to Brexit
Workers at BMW's mini-plant in Oxford. Photo: DPA

“The first concrete measures we have agreed with suppliers is (that) we
will not be producing on October 31st and November 1st,” BMW's chief finance officer Nicolas Peter told reporters at the Frankfurt Motor Show.

He said the decision was agreed with suppliers to “ensure the logistical
security” of the Oxford site, which produces the Mini brand models.

“We have prepared our processes for the Brexit, our systems are able to
cope,” assured Peter.

READ ALSO: German car parts maker to shut UK sites, citing Brexit

Despite a series of setbacks in Westminster, British Prime Minister Boris
Johnson has insisted he will not ask seek a new postponement to the UK's
withdrawal from the European Union, currently set for October 31st.

Like other car manufacturers with plants in the UK, BMW is preparing for
the prospect of a 'no-deal Brexit' and Britain's withdrawal from the EU
without a deal, which Peter warned could push prices up.

READ ALSO: Luxury German carmaker Porsche warns of Brexit price hike on UK cars

“A 'no-Deal' means that WTO (World Trade Organisation) tarifs will come
into force, which means an aggravated situation compared to the existing one,” he said.

“We would therefore have to increase prices in different markets,” if sales
and production decreased, he explained.

Other manufacturers have already warned of drastic consequences if Brexit goes badly.

Last month, Peugeot chief Carlos Tavares told the Financial Times that
production of Vauxhall and Opel Astra cars could be shifted to southern Europe from Ellesmere Port on Merseyside if Brexit has a negative impact on business.

READ ALSO: German business warns of Brexit 'chaos'

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