Saab cars officially dead as fresh proprietor rolls out NEVS brand
The long battle to restore Saab as an automaker is over, with the possessor of the assets of the former Swedish automaker, National Electrified Vehicle Sweden, confirming today that its future cars will be sold under the fresh brand NEVS.
The news will be sad for Saab fans all over the globe however at least now the automaker can eventually be laid to rest. After all, concerns over Saab’s fate date back to General Motors Company’s [NYSE:GM] bankruptcy days late last decade.
While NEVS, a Swedish rock hard with Chinese backers, was able to acquire most of Saab’s assets following the Swedish automaker’s own bankruptcy in 2011, the rights to the Saab brand and famous griffin logo were possessed by a separate defense rock-hard known as Saab, as well as truck manufacturer Scania. NEVS was primarily permitted to use the Saab brand (however not the griffin logo) but lost this right when its own finances hit the skids in 2014.
Quick forward to today and NEVS says it is sticking with its original plan for Saab and that’s to concentrate on sustainable mobility by suggesting electrical cars and fresh mobility solutions built around them. Its very first model will be a rebadged version of the former Saab 9-3 sedan which NEVS shortly built at Saab’s plant in Trollhättan, Sweden in 2013. It says the 9-3, this time with an electrical drivetrain, will embark production in two thousand seventeen and primarily be suggested for sale in China.
NEVS starts production of two thousand fourteen Saab 9-3
NEVS has already signed a few deals with firms in China and Turkey to either supply vehicles or license technology. NEVS will also produce vehicles in China at some point, tho’ originally it will use the plant in Trollhättan.
If all goes to plan, NEVS will launch its very first fresh model in 2018. NEVS has already outlined plans for four fresh models based on the Phoenix platform that Saab was developing prior to its bankruptcy. The four models include three SUVs plus a sports sedan with a fastback roof.
“Building on our car manufacturing heritage, we will proceed to concentrate on quality, craftsmanship and people-centric solutions, but we will add fresh dimensions to our business through our partnerships and collaborations,” NEVS President Mattias Bergman said in a statement. “In doing so, we will leave the Saab trademark and go forward with a fresh identity that will support our large and increasingly significant vision—to form mobility for a more sustainable future.”
The heritage Bergman is referring to dates back to one thousand nine hundred forty five when Saab as an automaker was founded (the Saab name dates back to the founding of the Saab defense rigid in 1937). Saab’s very first car was a hand-built prototype known as the Ursaab, which was ended in 1946. It spawned Saab’s very first production model, the 92, three years later.