Saab Saved by Chinese-Japanese Group, Plots Electric Future

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Following a series of would-be suitors that left the beleagured Swedish manufacturer empty-handed at the altar, Saab's future is finally cemented.

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Thanks to a Chinese-Swedish investment group backed by the Japanese, Saab Automobile will remain in Trollhattan but shift its focus to electric vehicles. Their first product will be based on the 9-3 platform, and could appear as soon as early 2014.

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Saab's official buyer is National Electric Vehicle Sweden AB (aka, NEVS), and the purchase excludes vehicle platforms whose licenses are still owned by GM like the 9-5 and 9-4X.?Zhejiang Youngman Lotus Automobile group had been in takeover talks for months, making a late bid in excess of $567 million; a transaction amount for the NEVS deal has not been released.?

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The future Saab promises to be a dramatically different company than the once-quirky brand whose downward spiral was hastened by GM's ownership. The operation, which once employed 3,500 people, will be scaled down to about 200. "Marketing and sales will be global but initially we will focus on China," CEO?Kai Johan said in a press conference.

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For?Trollhattan mayor and former union boss?Paul Akerlund, the news is simple: "Saab has risen again," he announced, lending credence to the nickname of Saab's future development platform, "Phoenix."

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Source: Automotive News

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