The Swedish factory that was formerly the home of Saab is to commence production of the NEVS 9-3 EV.
Under ownership of National Electric Vehicle Sweden (NEVS), which acquired the main assets of Saab when it of business in 2012, the Trollhättan factory will begin building 9-3 EVs in the second half of 2018. It will be the brand’s second production plant, joining the Tianjin facility in north-eastern China.
Tianjin, which has now begun building the 9-3 EV for the Chinese market, has an initial capacity of 50,000 units per year but is planned to be expanded to enable production of 220,000 vehicles per year by 2019.
The 9-3 EV is based on the underpinnings of the Saab 9-3 and has a similar exterior design but ditches the old model’s drivetrain. It has a claimed range of 186 miles and features wi-fi connectivity, over-the-air update software capability and smartphone-controllable vehicle charging.
The 9-3 EV has formed the base for a 9-3X EV, an electric crossover that will be produced for China but could also be expanded to reach into Europe and elsewhere. NEVS aims to use its growing model line-up to become one of the world's biggest makers of electric cars.
It has stated that it plans to operate 'mobility pilot' schemes of the 9-3 EV in Sweden and elsewhere in Europe in 2020.
As part of its push, NEVS is planning to open a second factory in China, where electric car demand has skyrocketed due to stringent emissions limits. It's also considering opening a factory in Turkey.
NEVS chairman Kai Johan Jiang told Automotive News that his company has already received around 300,000 orders for its electric cars from ride-sharing firms such as Panda New Energy.
NEVS is based in Sweden but has strong ties to China, being co-owned by several big companies from the area: National Modern Energy Holdings, Tianjin Binhai Hi-Tech Industrial Development Area and Beijing State Research Information Technology Company.
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About Phoenix
Nevs actually acquired the Phoenix platform. Stig Nodin, CTO of Nevs and former employee at SAAB, said that they have continued developing the platform and you could not longer say that the new line of cars is based on the Phoenix platform since it has changed so much. Flexible is how Stig is disclosing the new platform in a recent interview.
About Phoenix
Nevs actually acquired the Phoenix platform. Stig Nodin, CTO of Nevs and former employee at SAAB, said that they have continued developing the platform and you could not longer say that the new line of cars is based on the Phoenix platform since it has changed so much. Flexible is how Stig is disclosing the new platform in a recent interview.
autoindustryinsider
i find it weird how gm are ok with them using the 9-3 design, when they were so against saab having any chinese involvement before the bankruptcy. i also find it annoying how they've put all this work into a gm car when the far more up to date - and saab designed - phoenix platform was there. it feels very half-arsed and slow to come forth, unless it has something truely astounding hidden inside it that nobody knows about!
GM and Spyker
GM and Spyker (who bought Saab off GM) had a licensing deal for GM's 9-3 and 9-5 platform.
With Saab going under GM took back the the interlectual rights for the 9-5 platform, which also serviced the Buik equivillant which was still being manufactured. The 9-3 platform was however, considered to be so antiquated and obsolete by GM as to be (and probaly rightly so) to be of no threat to them whatsoever that the future held for Saab.
The Pheonix platform was rumoured to require so much work and interlectual rights squabbling caused by the bankruptcy that NEVS probaly considered it commercially non viable, a huge pity in my opinion. How ancient is that 9-3 platform!
Yes, this generation of 9-3
Yes, this generation of 9-3 is a sister car to the 2003 Vectra! We've had two generations of Insignia since then....