Saab will specialize in producing electric vehicles, according to the Japanese-Chinese conglomerate that purchased the automaker out of receivership. The newly created National Electric Vehicle Sweden announced that the first new model from Saab would be a battery-powered version of the existing 9-3, which will be produced by the renewed Trollhattan production lines at the end of next year. The top officials at NEVS said that Saab will make use of both Swedish expertise in manufacturing and design and Japanese EV technology. NEVS is targeted at the growing market EV market in China.
NEVS is in talks with Scania and the defense and security firm Saab over using the name and badge. During a recent press conference, NEVS said that it acquired the rights of the present 9-3 as well as the new Phoenix platform, which was being developed when Saab collapsed in 2011. It doesn’t own the rights fo the 9-5 or 9-4x SUV. The new generation of electric vehicles would use the Phoenix platform, which will have to be completed.
It’s likely that NEVS will introduce a production version of the Saab 9-3 ePower, which came out almost two years ago. It is equipped with a 184bhp electric motor and a 35.5kWh lithium-Ion battery placed under the floor. The car is able to accelerate from zero to 62mph in 8.4 seconds. Saab said that the battery would provide full power even at -30Cdeg. Kai Johan Jiang, one of those who founded NEVS, can speak Swedish fluently. He is the owner of Hong-Kong based National Modern Energy Holdings Ltd, a major shareholder in State Power Group that operates 28 biomass power plants in China.
