This is the final production version of the NEVS 9-3
EV, an electric variant of the good old Saab 9-3 sedan. It will be launched on
the Chinese car market in July, aimed mostly at ride-sharing companies. NEVS
(National Electric Vehicle Sweden) didn’t change much of the design.
The bonnet of the NEVS 9-3 EV is a bit higher to
comply with pedestrian safety regulations, they updated the grille a bit, the
light units are new, new LED fog lights, a NEVS badge under the A-pillar, and
yes they added new mirrors as well.
NEVS is owned by a Hong Kong based company called
National Modern Energy Holdings, headed by the Chinese-Swedish businessman Kai
Johan Jiang. The 9-3 EV is manufactured at new factory in the Binhai Hi-Tech
Zone in the port city of Tianjin. Current annual capacity is 50.000 cars and
that will grow to 220.000 within two years. Total investment so far is 4.2
billion yuan or US$ 750 million.
In 2015 NEVS went shopping at bankrupt Saab and they
bought: Saab Motor Co. Ltd., Saab
Automobile Powertrain Co., Ltd., Saab Auto Mould Co., Inc., and all
intellectual property, tooling, factories and test equipment for Saab’s 9-3 and
for the Phoenix platform.
The NEVS 9-3 EV is based on the Saab 9-3, which
stood on GM’s Epsilon platform. The Phoenix platform was intended for the
all-new 9-3, but that car never made it to the market. NEVS has been quiet
about the platform, and that likely means they aren’t doing anything with it at
the moment.
The electric motor of the NEVS 9-3 EV delivers 177
hp. NEVS has not made any official announcements on battery, charging, or
range.The interior is largely unchanged as well. NEVS even kept the knobs on
the air vents! Steering wheel is the same, aircon controls are the same, and
the handbrake is the same too. NEVS did fit a new instrument binnacle with a
digital panel, a new lever, and they deleted the traditional Saab-keyhole on
the center tunnel in favor of two cup holders.
NEVS has an “strategic partnership” with DiDi
Chunxing, China’s take on Uber. Under the agreement DiDi will buy a number of
9-3 EVs for their future fleet of electric cars. When this will happen exactly
and how many cars Didi will buy is yet unknown. The 9-3 NEV will be offered to
individual buyers too but with so many modern EVs on offer in China it is hard
to see why somebody would go for a NEVS.
Cr : Carnewschina
