General Motors Co. will close Saturn, the brand created 24 years ago to mirror Japanese companies' carmaking, after Penske Automotive Group Inc. broke off discussions to buy the unit.
Penske, operator of 310 auto retailers, backed out because of concern it wouldn't have access to cars and sport-utility vehicles after 2011 when GM was due to stop supplying them, Penske said in a statement. Renault SA's board rejected a deal to build cars for Saturn, a person familiar with the talks said. The person asked to not be identified because the discussions were private.
Penske's exit forces GM to adjust its post-bankruptcy plan for cutting in half the number of brands it sells in the U.S. It intended to sell the Saturn, Hummer and Saab marques and close Pontiac. The Detroit-based automaker said in June the Saturn sale would save 13,000 jobs and 350 dealerships.
"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," GM Chief Executive Officer Fritz Henderson said in a statement on the company's Web site.
Saturn dealers will have until October 2010 to wind down operations, John McDonald, a GM spokesman, said in an interview.
Renault Role
Penske Auto, based in Bloomfield Hills, Michigan, had planned to import vehicles carrying the Saturn label from a maker such as Renault Samsung Motors Co., a South Korean unit of France's Renault SA that doesn't now export to the U.S.
Penske said today an agreement with a manufacturer to supply vehicles was rejected by the potential partner's board.
