[ via Jalopnik.com / CNBC ]

General Motors’ agreement to sell its Saab Automobile unit to a Swedish car maker has fallen apart, CNBC has learned, raising questions about Saab’s ability to survive.

GM confirmed that Koenigsegg of Sweden pulled out of the deal to buy Saab, whose sales have plunged 61.5 percent this year, with only 7,400 being sold in the US.

“The time factor has always been critical for our strategy to breathe new life into the company,” Koenigsegg said in a press release Tuesday, about five months after the two sides had reached a preliminary deal.

A source told Reuters that GM’s board will meet next Tuesday to consider Saab’s fate.