The days of the Saab brand might be over soon, as BusinessWeek reports that General Motors is considering closing down the brand and selling several major pieces to the Chinese automaker Beijing Automotive Industry Holding.

The move comes a week after General Motors saw a potential deal to sell Saab to a joint partnership of the Koenigsegg Group and Beijing Auto fall through after the Koenigsegg Group withdrew their interest. However, Beijing Auto still appears to be interested in several parts of Saab, including assets such as production machinery, and appears to be looking complete a deal sooner rather than later.

Anonymous sources told BusinessWeek that both Merbanco and Renco Group have approached GM about purchasing the Swedish-based Saab. GM has recently rejected an attempt by Beijing Auto to buy its Opel brand and shelved the Saturn brand after a deal with the Penske Automotive Group fell through.

According to Reuters, panelists at the Reuters Auto Summit in Detroit this week agreed that the excess capacity seen by the major auto suppliers will lead to increased consolidation within the market in 2010.

“There are too many suppliers,” Earl Hesterberg, chief executive of auto retailer Group One said at the summit. “The longer this market stays at 10, 11 even 12 million units, it will put financial pressure on suppliers and drive consolidation.”

Panelists also agreed that the U.S. Government stopped a possible “tsunami” by providing government-assisted bankruptcy protection for General Motors and Chrysler. However, industry experts predict that companies that have been barely able to stay afloat in 2009 might be unable to sustain themselves in 2010 and become targets for consolidation.