CHICAGO (AFP) - Elimination of the Swedish car brand a likely scenario, analysts say.

General Motors hit another road bump in its attempt to downsize its global operations Tuesday after a Swedish sports car maker backed out of a deal to buy the US automaker's Saab brand.

The complication comes as the automaker is working to trim its post-bankruptcy losses, accelerate repayments of government loans, and finance the restructuring of its European operations after deciding not to sell Opel-Vauxhall.

"The question is will they keep it as part of Opel, or are there other buyers, or will they just eliminate it as they did for Saturn," said Michelle Krebs, an analyst at automotive website Edmunds.com.

GM's board will discuss Saab's future at a meeting on Tuesday.

A spokesman told AFP he could not speculate as to what the board will decide to do.

"From GM's perspective it's probably not that big a deal," said David Cole, chairman of the Center for Automotive Research in Ann Arbor, Michigan.

"When the company turns around, as they are doing, they'll be extremely profitable and the size of the issues with respect to Saab will not be that great."

There's a strong likelihood that GM will find another buyer for Saab given how many cash-rich Chinese companies are jockeying for a position in the global auto industry, Cole said.

Purchasing a relatively "cheap" European carmaker like Saab would provide both a foothold in key markets and the technology needed to compete, Cole said.

GM could also decide to hold onto Saab, as it did with Opel, to further strengthen its European position.