The future of Saab was thrown into doubt yesterday after a consortium led by Sweden's Koenigsegg had pulled out of talks to buy the premium car brand from General Motors.

Fritz Henderson, GM chief executive, said the company was “disappointed” by the niche supercar maker's decision, and that GM would advise on its further plans for Saab next week.

The deal's collapse marks the second failure by GM in less than two months to sell a lossmaking brand to outside investors. Last month, Penske Automotive Group, the US dealership chain, abandoned a deal to acquire its Saturn brand because of doubts about securing a long-term supply of vehicles.

Koenigsegg blamed the collapse on delays in closing the deal after months of negotiations with the Swedish government over financial support. “Unfortunately, delays in closing this acquisition have resulted in risks and uncertainties that prevent us from successfully implementing the new Saab Automobile business plan,” the company said.

The brand, headquartered north of Gothenburg, employs about 3,400 people, and has about 1,100 dealers.

In June, GM signed a memorandum of understanding with Koenigsegg, which produces supercars priced at up to €1m ($1.5m), to sell Saab, which the Detroit carmaker failed to make profitable in nearly two decades of ownership.

The deal took many months to negotiate, and came close to collapse at least once before, when Koenigsegg faced a €275m funding gap later filled by China's Beijing Automotive Industry Holding Co, which bought a minority stake in the consortium led by Koenigsegg. A person close to the situation said yesterday that talks to close the deal between Koenigsegg and its Chinese partner had “not been going well”. Several people involved in the process said there was little chance the deal could be revived.