Saab Automobile AB has another shot at survival after a consortium led by Swedish boutique sports-car maker Koenigsegg Group AB agreed to a preliminary deal to buy the troubled company from General Motors Corp. (GMGMQ)

Under the agreement, Saab vehicles will remain on sale in the U.S. GM has agreed to provide powertrains and technology to the new owners for an undefined time, and expects to build the brand's next new release, the Saab 94-X crossover.

The deal is a major step toward resolving unknowns facing GM as it navigates through bankruptcy court. Saab's long-term future, however, remains uncertain.

If the deal goes through, Koenigsegg, founded in 1994 by a 22-year-old entrepreneur to make cars for the super-rich, faces the difficult task of reversing years of mounting losses and sales declines at Saab.

Saab has been "consistently unprofitable" since GM acquired the brand in 2000, GM Chief Executive Fritz Henderson said Tuesday in an online question-and-answer session. He said a "myriad of reasons" were responsible for the failure, but expressed confidence that the new owners could turn Saab around.

"We ran out of money just on the eve of launching the newest generation of Saabs, which we think will be outstanding," Henderson said.

Saab was put up for sale earlier this year as part of the auto maker's efforts to return to profitability. Steady sales declines at Saab accelerated dramatically in recent months, with the brand's future in question.

May sales in Europe slumped 66% from a year earlier to 2,191, according to data released Tuesday. In the U.S., just 783 Saab models were sold in during May, a fall of 64% and less than the Hummer truck brand being offloaded to Chinese investors. Despite the paltry sales, Saab spokeswoman Gunilla Gustavs said Saab "fully intends" to continue its U.S. business.

"There are enormous obstacles to overcome" in saving Saab, HIS Global Insight analyst Tim Urquhart's said in a research note Tuesday. "Not least [is] ensuring that the company can limit its cash burn and buy sufficient time and attract funding to underpin a turnaround."

Shareholders in the new company are Koenigsegg, with a 23.4% stake, its owner and Chief Executive Christian von Koenigsegg's firm Alpraaz AB with 42.6%, Norwegian holding company Eker Group with 11.8% and San Diego-based Mark Bishop with 22.2%, according to court documents. Saab's sales price hasn't been disclosed.

Saab was granted creditor protection in Sweden on Feb. 20 and GM said it wanted to offload the unit by the year's end. The sale, expected to close by the end of the third quarter, includes an expected $600 million funding commitment from the European Investment Bank guaranteed by the Swedish government, the companies said in a statement.

Additional financial support is to be provided by GM and Koenigsegg to fund Saab's operations and program investments, including plans to launch several products that are in the final stages of development, such as the long-awaited revamp of Saab's flagship 9-5 model and the new 9-4X.

The deal comes a day before a Swedish court is expected to approve Saab's proposal to slash its debt to hundreds of creditors.

Meanwhile, haggling continued over GM's Adam Opel GmbH European unit. Fiat SpA (FIATY) is still vying for Opel after the German government chose Magna International Inc.'s (MGA) consortium over Fiat's offer and pledged to provide bridge financing to keep the company afloat.

Also unresolved in Europe is the future of Volvo, the wholly owned Swedish subsidiary of Ford Motor Co (F). It remains for sale and interested parties include several Chinese companies - Beijing Automotive Industry and investment group led by auto company Geely Holding. The bidding for Volvo, which had been expected to concluded by the end of this month, could now stretch deeper into the summer or longer, according to a person familiar with the matter.

-By Sharon Terlep, Dow Jones Newswires; sharon.terlep@dowjones.com; 248-204-5532

(Ian Edmondson and Jonathan Buck contributed to this report.)