A statement from Saab GB said: ‘Saab GB is an independent business and a separate UK legal entity to Saab Automobile, it is wholly owned by SWAN and is not part of the voluntary reorganisation filing. Saab GB will continue to operate the business in the UK as normal and has sufficient funding in place to meet all creditor obligations and will continue to pay all employees, dealers and suppliers as normal.

‘Saab GB and its dealer network will continue to provide servicing, replacement parts and vehicle warranty facilities for Saab customers as normal.’

In Sweden, Saab Automobile announced that it has filed for voluntary reorganisation under a self-managed, Swedish court-supervised process – effectively protection against bankruptcy – while it waits for promised Chinese investment.

Saab Automobile has said that together with the court-appointed administrator, it will formulate a proposal for reorganisation of its business, to be presented at a creditors’ meeting within three weeks of filing.

In June, Saab said two Chinese car companies, Pangda Automobile Trade Co Ltd and Zhejiang Youngman Lotus Automobile, had agreed to take a combined majority stake in the firm. The deals are still awaiting approval from the Chinese authorities.

Victor Muller, chief executive officer said: ‘Since securing the long-term funding through conditional agreements with Pang Da and Youngman, who both support this voluntary reorganisation, we have focused on securing funding to bridge the period until we receive their funds. We have concluded that a voluntary reorganisation process will provide us with the necessary time, protection and stabilisation of the business, short-term funding to be obtained and an orderly restart of production to be prepared.’