A deal to distribute vehicles in China is likely to be signed this year, said CEO Jan Ake Jonsson.

"Until we launch the new 9-3 at the end of 2012, it will be just a couple of thousand units (annually), all based on imports," said Jonsson on the sidelines of the Los Angeles auto show.

Among the issues to be resolved by the end of this year is "defining the dealer network" in China, he said. Saab needs to be present in five or six cities, with a total of 10 to 15 dealers.

The company also must decide whether to produce vehicles in China, Jonsson noted. If Saab decides to do so, production would begin with the next-generation 9-3. The 9-5 and the upcoming 9-4X crossover would be imported.

Victor Muller, Saab's chairman, said, "You need to get to a volume of 10,000 cars (in China) before you can start manufacturing locally."

One possible partner for Saab may be Beijing Automotive Industry Holding Co., which purchased Saab's tooling and technology for the previous-generation 9-5 sedan car, plus some technology from the current 9-3 model for $200 million.

Last April, Beijing Auto CEO Wang Dazong told Swedish business daily Dagens Industri that he wanted to invest in Saab.

"We have a durable interest in deepening our partnership with Saab and we are ready to invest in the company," BAIC chief executive Wang Dazong said at the time.

Beijing Auto was one of the bidders for Saab, but General Motors Co. instead sold its Swedish subsidiary to Spyker Cars NV, a Dutch maker of super cars, for $400 million in cash and stock.