Spyker says ailing Saab not facing collapse

The production problems which hit loss-making Swedish carmaker Saab last week were a small glitch which the company will survive, Dutch owner Spyker Cars NV said on Monday.

Saab, based in western Sweden, had to stop production for three days after suppliers stopped deliveries due to unpaid bills. The problems, which Spyker has said are now solved, raised question marks about the company's finances.

But Spyker Chief Executive Victor Muller, whose company bought Saab in 2010 from General Motors, remained upbeat.

"Saab is still producing and it is not on the verge of collapse," Muller told a news conference where Saab was presenting new vehicles.

He said the company would by next year have the widest and newest range in its history and output this year would be weighted towards the latter half.

Saab President and Chief Executive Jan Ake Jonsson, who unexpectedly announced his retirement two weeks ago, said the company had faced a tightening in liquidity in the second half of the quarter but was working to solve the problem.

Efforts to boost Saab's long-term financing are focused on Russian businessman Vladimir Antonov, who has submitted an application to take a stake in the loss-making car manufacturer.

Antonov used to be a third owner in Spyker, but was forced out of the Saab deal after media reports of links to organised crime, which he denied. He says he has cleared his name and that GM is ready to have him back as a shareholder.