Workers at Saab "will need to work like hell" to save the crisis-hit car manufacturer, regardless of who takes over the company.

As Saab's American owner General Motors languishes in bankruptcy, some 4,000 miles away in southwest Sweden, the long midsummer days bring with them a ray of hope to workers at their Trollhättan plant.

Saab is on the block as GM can no longer afford to keep the Swedish automaker as it looks to restructure its operations and emerge a new, leaner company.

"I feel very confident this will be solved," said Fleming Steen, who works in the procurement and logistics department in Trollhättan.

Executives expect a deal to be struck by the end of June and media reports say Swedish sports carmaker Koenigsegg and US investment company Renco Group are the front runners to buy the company.

In 2008, Saab's global sales fell by 25 percent to 93,000 cars and the company posted losses of 3.0 billion kronor (241 million euros, 341 million dollars at the time) yet despite this, employees like Steen remain positive about the company's future.

"I've been working here since 1978 and I've lived through all the ups and downs of this company. We make good cars and we have a very good brand. We will survive," he said.

One of those lows came in the late 1980s when the strength of the Swedish krona to the dollar hurt Saab's sales in the United States, its largest export market.

GM first invested in Saab in 1990, acquiring a 50 percent stake in its joint venture with truckmaker Scania. The Detroit giant wanted Saab to add a premium marque to its wide range of brands.

"The first time I heard that GM would take over the company, I thought it was very good news, but I think they have handled Saab very badly," Steen told AFP.

Almost two decades later, Saab workers complain their US parent did not invest enough money into new products and the time is right to find a new owner.

"In this marriage between GM and Saab, it's time for a divorce. It would be the best thing for both parties," said Peter Bäckström, who started as a trainee engineer in Trollhättan in 1984.

A car enthusiast since his youth, Bäckström has been the manager and curator since 1995 of the town's Saab museum, some eight kilometres (five miles) from the plant.

He was part of the team that worked on the last generation of the Saab 9-5, which went on sale in 1997.