NEVS or National Electric Vehicle Sweden, has
officially started production of a fully electric four-door sedan based on the
old Saab 9-3. This launch will also accelerate NEVS’ timetable with regards to manufacturing
in other cities in the People’s Republic, as per China’s Evergrande Group.
Meanwhile, the cars are being put together at a factory in the port city of
Tianjin, a location that can reportedly build 50,000 units per year, according
to Autonews Europe.
As of right now, the Evergrande Group, NEVS’ parent
company, has yet to divulge any details regarding the Saab-based electric
sedan. All we know is that the platform was part the assets purchased by NEVS
(a company started by businessman Kai Johan Jiang in Trollhattan, Sweden) from
Saab Automobile back in 2012. It’s also true that the Evergrande Group, China’s largest real estate
developer, bought a controlling 51% stake in NEVS for 6.4 billion yuan ($930
million) back in January.
In addition to NEVS, the Chinese real estate giant
also purchased Shanghai-based EV battery supplier CENAT New Energy, plus two
foreign electric motor makers in UK-based Protean Electric and Dutch company
e-Traction – the former transaction took place just a month ago with Protean
Electric being tasked with developing in-wheel motors offering “improved
powertrain efficiency and greater flexibility in vehicle design.”
