GM says it has failed to sell its Swedish car brand Saab and will begin "an orderly wind-down of Saab operations". GM had been in talks with the Dutch speciality car maker Spyker over a sale. Talks with Sweden's Koenigsegg also fell through earlier this year.

"We regret that we are not able to complete this transaction with Spyker Cars," said GM Europe boss Nick Reilly. GM has been trying to sell Saab as part of its turnaround plans since January.

Mr Reilly added that all debts would be paid and that the winding-down would be "an orderly process". On a conference call, GM vice-president John Smith said it became clear that there were serious problems with the Spyker talks that could not be resolved. He said: "We reached a point of impasse, we decided to deal with it and move on."

A statement from the firm said that Saab would continue to honour all warranties, while providing service and spare parts to current Saab owners around the world.