[Report] Saab 9-3 production to start in China in 2013

We knew that National Electric Vehicle Sweden planned to restart production of the last-gen Saab 9-3 at some point in the future, we just didn't know exactly when, or exactly where. As it turns out, the answers to those questions are soon, and China.

Though NEVS had initially said it will build vehicles in Sweden before shipping them to China, the latest report from Autocar suggests that the cars will instead be built right in Quingdao starting later in 2013. That's right, this calendar year. Also on the docket is a followup electric version of the 9-3, which is slated to come to market in 2014 in an effort to satiate China's wish that there be half a million EVs silently filling its streets within the next two years.

NEVS wants to be part of the EV solution, but it's not going to be easy. Naturally, if these cars are to be built in China, a factory has to be located or built, tooling needs to be in place, workers need to be hired and trained and a lengthy trail of paperwork has to be signed off by the government before even the well-known gasoline-powered 9-3 can be a reality, let along the unknown quantity that is the 9-3 ePower.

In other words... Må kraften vara med dig, NEVS.

ews Source: Autocar

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NEVS to build new Saab models in China's Qingdao

National Electric Vehicle Sweden has officially signed a deal with Qingdao Qingbo Investment Company that will see the NEVS build EVs in Qingdao, China. The move is the first step on the road toward eventually selling vehicles in China. Reuters reports that the Chinese company has agreed to invest $307.33 million, after which point Qingdao Qingbo will receive 22 percent of the NEVS shares. Currently, there's no word on exactly when the funds and shares will change hands, but the Swedish automaker has previously said it fully intends to launch its first EV by early 2014.

NEVS has also made waves about potentially building a version of the old Saab 9-3 with a traditional internal combustion driveline. Currently, the manufacturer says it plans to ship the vehicles it builds in Sweden to the Qingdao port and distribute them to the rest of China from there. Later down the line, a manufacturing facility in Qingdao will supply the country with Chinese-built Saab models.

News Source: Reuters

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Chinese City Qingdao to Give Saab $307 Million Boost

 

Ever since National Electric Vehicle Sweden AB, or NEVS, took control of Saab, things have gotten extremely quiet, and aside from the auctioning off of some leftover cars they had, there have been no news from Sweden for quite a while. They also closed down their Australian operation earlier this week.

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Saab Australia Closed

While we wait for them to be rescued by the Chinese or be turned into an electric car company, Saab’s death is still taking its toll across the world. Since the beginning of 2013, Saab Cars Australia has been placed under voluntary administration, closing down its business in Port Melbourne.

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Saab to hire 200 engineers, might build gas cars with Mahindra

The brand formerly known as Saab is still intent on teaching The Little Engine That Could a few ticks about persistence. We say "formerly known" because it turns out that National Electric Vehicle Swedent (NEVS), the Sino-Japanese investment consortium that just bought the majority of Saab's assets, minus Saab Automobile Parts AB, may not actually own the rights to the Saab brand name. According to a report in Di.se via Saabs United, NEVS will need to negotiate with Scania and the Swedish aerospace and defense group, Saab AB, for the right to name its forthcoming electric car the Saab 9-3.

NEVS is hiring 200 engineers now to work on its electric car program, and reports are that it will hire more as it gets closer to the 2014 launch. It will be based on the current (read: ancient) 9-3, and we hope NEVS is succeeds in getting the naming rights, because the NEVS 9-3 just doesn't have the same ring. NEVS will likely target China as the model's main market.

However, it's rumors of their second negotiating ploy that we're really rooting for: to work with Mahinda & Mahindra, the Indian company once in the running for Saab's assets, develop a petrol-powered 9-3 on the next-generation Phoenix platform, based on Jason Castriota's design.

NEVS is also said to be planning new models "based on Japanese technology," yet with just under $1 billion U.S. committed to the electric program, the Di.se report says NEVS wants to have other products to generate revenue. A conventionally powered gasoline-engined car could be the answer. There only connection between Saab AB and Mahindra appears to be that India is one of Saab's largest markets and Mahindra is Indian. Separately, Mahindra could develop the car and provide small, "low carbon output" engines. It's tenuous, which characterizes just about everything that happens with Saab these days, but perhaps NEVS sees it as enough of a lure for everyone involved to make it worth the attempt.

The amount of speculation here makes the chances of a Phoenix-based 9-3 too thin to even call slim, but we won't bet against it, if only because one was quite far along in development under the company's previous owners. And besides, we'd really like to see it happen. 

via: In Auto News, Saabs United

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Saab Reborn as EV Maker?

Having followed the Saab story closely from the very beginning, we are finally relieved that the ailing Swedish carmaker has been purchased and is set to restart actual car production at some point in the (hopefully near) future.

Their buyers, NEVS (National Electric Vehicle Sweden) will undoubtedly try to start production of ‘something’ as soon as possible. However, what will roll off the production line in Trollhättan may not be what you were expecting. Reports indicate that Saab will now make EVs which, at first, will be made for the Chinese market, with the first car reportedly being a 9-3-based EV.

Sadly, though, the excellent 9-5 will apparently not be making it back into production as GM is unwilling to give permission to the new owners to start making it - what a shame! However, we hope that the 9-5 too will be reborn as a “premium electric vehicle” made in Europe, for the European market.

Following the 9-3-based model, the next EV to be launched will be a Phoenix platform-based vehicle. You may remember the PhoeniX concept revealed by Saab at the 2011 Geneva Motor Show - it also previewed a new platform bearing the same name. It was originally intended to underpin a ‘new breed’ of Saabs, following the acquisition by Spyker, but will now be used in an upcoming EV.

Regardless of the new owners’ nationality, they must not forget (or ignore and neglect) the fact that Saab is a deeply European and Scandinavian company, deeply proud of its roots and heritage, which needs to be treaded as such in order to obtain true success and cult status in years to come, bringing Saab to the forefront of the automotive industry, albeit as an EV maker.

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Saab sold! Again. Probably.

You'll note that we have yet to remove Saab from the dropdown menu at the top of the Autoblog home page. Indeed, for a bankrupt company that hasn't built a new car from scratch yet this year, Saab generates a surprising amount of news, however, little of it has been the good kind. Perhaps that will all change today, as this latest report indicates that the company has actually been sold for real this time.

According to The Local, an English-language Swedish news site, the new owner of Saab is understood to be National Electric Vehicle Sweden AB, "a Swedish-registered company founded by a Hong Kong-based firm specialised in alternative energy and a Japanese investment fund."

NEVS would only confirm that it had made a bid for Saab before the April 7 deadline, according to the report, which said that court administrators also refused to comment, though an official announcement is expected later this month. The offer is said to be in the $208-$250 million range and excludes the parts operation.

The report says news of the sale was shared by the Trollhättan city manager, and though she did not know who the buyer was, she said she had been told the deal would be inked this week. Shortly after media began reporting the story, however, a public relations official for the city denied that anyone at the city knew about any deal, characterizing the leak as a "misinterpretation," according to the report.

While we have imagined many times in recent months that we had written the final word on this Swedish soap opera, clearly this isn't it. 

Via: The Local

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