General Motors (GM) said on Tuesday it would wind down its Saturn brand after talks broke off with Penske Automotive Group on a bid for the nameplate.
GM said in a statement that Penske “has decided to terminate discussions” to acquire Saturn “because of the inability to source new products beyond what it had asked GM to build on contract.”
“This is very disappointing news and comes after months of hard work by hundreds of dedicated employees and Saturn retailers who tried to make the new Saturn a reality,” the US automaker said.
As a result of the decision, GM said: “We will be winding down the Saturn brand and dealership network, in accordance with the wind-down agreements that Saturn dealers have recently signed with GM.”
Penske said in a separate statement it had been unable to secure a deal with a car manufacturer to produce vehicles after the expiration of an agreement with GM to make cars on a contract basis.
Penske agreed in June to acquire the Saturn brand in a deal aimed at saving some 350 dealerships and 13,000 jobs at Saturn and its retailers in the US.
Penske, a big auto dealership operator headed by former race car driver Roger Penske, made the deal shortly after GM filed for bankruptcy protection in a government-backed reorganization.
GM was to continue to produce Saturn cars on a contract basis, including the Saturn Aura sedan, and the Vue and Outlook sport utility vehicles.
Saturn began selling cars in 1990 as GM created the unit to build inexpensive cars to compete with Japanese automakers. It has sold more than 4 million vehicles.
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