Swedish automaker Saab has received interest from several other car makers, including Asian players, interested in potential licensing of its new 9-3 car platforms, the head of Saab owner Spyker Cars said on October 13.
Saab, which Dutch luxury car maker Spyker bought this year from General Motors, is also in talks with BMW and other automakers to use their platform for a proposed 9-2 model, Spyker Chief Executive Victor Muller said.
"We're in constant dialogue with a number of players to share the (9-3) technology. There are parties that are interested in talking about possible licensing of the technology," Muller told Reuters in an interview.
"Every boardroom of every carmaker now has one major concern; how can I drive my break-even point down? The quickest fix is to sell and share your technology because it's already been paid for," he said.
In return, Saab is talking to BMW and others about getting their platforms for its proposed smaller 9-2 model.
"Clearly we have a preference, but whether it's BMW, I can't tell you," Muller said. "BMW would make a wonderful partner." Car makers globally like partnerships to develop cars or exchange technology to save costs. Spyker struck a deal with BMW last month under which BMW would supply four-cylinder turbocharged gasoline engines for its new 9-3 model from 2012.
The deal will help Spyker, which wants to sell 120,000 cars per year starting 2012, get new technology despite its negative shareholder equity value when liabilities surpassed assets in June. Muller said he is "pretty confident" that Spyker will meet its forecasts for selling 45,000 units this year and 80,000 units in 2011.