NEVS purchased Saab after its demise in 2012 and is now planning a rebirth of the Saab 9-3 but as a full electric vehicle with a 297km range.
NO LONGER KNOWN as the Saab 9-3, the long-running design (2007-2012) has been reborn as an all-electric vehicle called the NEVS 9-3. The first model rolled off the production line late last week.
Although NEVS is based in Sweden it is owned by a Chinese company with the NEVS 9-3 built exclusively at a Chinese factory in Tianjin. It has signed deals with Chinese ride-sharing business DiDi Chuxing to produce a second- and third-generation EV, although details about these vehicles haven’t been released.
According to NEVS, which is saying very little about its all-electric 9-3, the EV has a range of 297km from a single charge and has a top speed of less than 140km/h. The company plans to build 50,000 in its first year of production before moving to phase two and producing a staggering 220,000 cars each year.
The company will focus on the Chinese market initially although autonomous vehicle testing has been hinted at in Europe.
