📰 Auto News Nissan & Penske looking to partner to buy Saturn

[Mook]

wtf nissan

(its all speculation of course, at least in regards to nissan)

May 6 (Bloomberg) -- Nissan Motor Co., Japan’s third-largest automaker, may join a venture with U.S. retailer Penske Automotive Group Inc. and General Motors Corp.’s Saturn car brand, two people familiar with the matter said.

The idea is that Nissan, its affiliate Renault SA or another automaker may make Saturn-brand vehicles for a new venture that could be operated by Penske and distributed through Saturn’s retail network, said the people, who asked not to be named because discussions are private. GM is seeking to spin off or sell the Saturn brand and its distribution network that links 350 to 400 U.S. dealerships.

Chief Executive Officer Carlos Ghosn may want to put Nissan’s North American factories to work producing vehicles under the Saturn nameplate after Nissan and Infiniti sales in the U.S. fell by a third. Nissan shares have gained 59 percent this year.

For Penske Automotive, such a venture may allow it to expand its business, similar to its distribution of Daimler AG’s Smart brand.

“We’ve looked at Saturn,” Chief Executive Officer Roger Penske said May 4 in an interview. “We look at a lot of opportunities. It would be premature to say we’re anywhere close to a deal.”

U.S. Saturn franchisees have collectively invested from $1 billion to $2 billion in their stores, parts and related equipment, according to dealer estimates.

GM, facing a June 1 deadline to cut debt and other costs or file for bankruptcy protection, plans to shrink its eight U.S. automotive brands to four.

Multiple Bidders

The automaker has committed to producing Saturn models through the end of this year and is willing to make them on a contract basis through 2011, Jill Lajdziak, general manager for the brand, said April 28.

GM is entertaining interest from multiple bidders, Lajdziak said last week. Detroit-based GM will accept bids for the brand until June 1 and will narrow down the list through the summer, with a goal of selling or winding down the brand by the end of the year.

Steve Janisse, a GM spokesman, declined to comment on Saturn bidders. GM is being advised by former equity analyst Stephen Girsky, the automaker reiterated in a statement May 4.

In addition to selling cars at retail through 310 dealerships in the U.S. and U.K., Penske is the U.S. distributor of Smart cars. Unlike most other vehicle-distribution networks, Smart takes customer orders and deposits via a Web site, allowing dealers to keep fewer cars in inventory.

‘Plug and Play’

Penske executives refer to such a vehicle distribution method, sidestepping the traditional U.S. franchises in which only dealers can take retail orders, as “plug and play.”

Nissan’s U.S. sales, including its Infiniti luxury brand, have tumbled 36 percent this year, similar to the industry’s 37 percent plunge. The Tokyo-based automaker has excess manufacturing capacity in North America and could build versions of its current models branded as Saturns.

Nissan and Renault have expressed tentative interest in the venture, one of the people said. Fred Standish, a Nissan spokesman, and Frederique Le Greves, a Renault spokeswoman, declined to comment.

GM introduced Saturn in 1990 to take on Japanese brands in the U.S. with a low-pressure sales approach and no-haggle pricing. U.S. sales tumbled 58 percent through the first four months of this year. Only Hummer, among GM brands, declined more sharply at 67 percent.

Penske Automotive, the second-largest publicly held dealer group, earned $16.3 million in first-quarter net income or 18 cents per share, down 50 percent from last year’s $32.3 million or 33 cents per share.

Penske lost 9 cents, or 0.7 percent, today to close at $13.47. It has gained 75 percent this year.

http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601087&sid=abwBuzkbmOts&refer=home

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[Mook]

more

According to the Wall Street Journal, General Motors is considering the idea of selling its Saturn unit to Renault. The French automaker would use the Saturn dealer network as a launching pad for a new lineup of small, fuel efficient vehicles.

Renault already controls Nissan and Samsung Motors, so Chief Executive Carlos Ghosn may consider the acquisition of Saturn a cheap way to get its European products into the U.S. market.

 

[Alacran]

just let Saturn die... Penske dropped Detroit Diesel like a bad habit now its Saturn's turn.