Thursday 7th June 2012
Saab sold - but the buyer isn't who you'd think
Electric car consortium to turn Saab into a super-green brand
The Saab brand has officially been sold to National Electric Vehicle Sweden (NEVS). The electric vehicle consortium sparked rumours of the sale by publishing the following statement on its website earlier this week: "SAAB Automobile, Trollhattan and Sweden stands for innovation and technology excellence. At SAAB Automobile, the engagement for future transportation solutions is pervasive."
This morning, the City-Director of Trollhattan Annika Wennerblom revealed that the final details of the Saab sale have been confirmed. The electric car consortium is believed to have bought the whole firm, excluding Saab parts, and is expected to start producing hybrid cars at Saab's Trollhattan factory.
It's been a troubled few years for Swedish automaker Saab; first Victor Muller stormed in and saved the firm at the last minute after GM decided to pull the plug. Then the 9-5 was launched to diluted applause, the 9-4X debuted in America and the UK arm's sales were on the up. Then Saab ran out of money, failed to pay its parts suppliers and stopped manufacturing cars back in April 2011.
Since then Muller strived to rescue the firm with Chinese backing, but that also failed and by the end of 2011 Saab was placed into administration. BMW showed interest (having agreed a deal to supply petrol engines for the forthcoming 9-3) while Chinese maker Youngman and Indian manufacturer Mahindra fought it out in the headlines to be the best suitor for saving Saab.
Despite their might, and financial muscle, it has been announced today that the buyer is neither, and the final party at the negotiating table was NEVS.
With NEVS Having worked on developing its own 9-3 ePower hybrid, you can expect a re-worked version of this to be the first to appear - though experts suggest this is still some years away from being fully production-ready.
The 9-3 saloon uses an electric rear axle and small petrol engine to drive the front wheels to create a full four-wheel-drive system. Coupled with the trick eLSD the 9-3 ePower actually promises to be the best-driving Saab of recent times. It's also thought NEVS has bought the rights to the Phoenix platform (the all-new vehicle architecture that was to underpin future Saabs), which it will re-engineer to make suitable for hybrid and electric powertrains and produce a range of new Saab-branded vehicles.
Follow the whole Saab Saga in the forums here
|
Harji
Original Poster
733 posts
30 months
|
Fantastic news. I have a feeling that some Swedish thinking (the same thinking behind Saab originally and Volvo) may bring a new lease of life into Hybrid cars.
Good luck
|
|
|
urquattro
540 posts
55 months
|
Good, and it has stayed in swedish ownership, not followed our brands east etc as cheap buys.
|
|
|
dublet
218 posts
80 months
|
|
|
Carfolio
1,124 posts
50 months
|
Yet more undignified convulsions. It was doomed the second GM got hold of it. SAAB has taken 20 odd years to die, and it still hasn't gone. Imagine what could have been, had the right buyer been found first time around!
|
|
|
B10
690 posts
136 months
|
So it is the company AND the brand that has been sold. To me a brand is not a company. Sorry being a bit of a pendant.
|
Advertisement
|
|
|
Bill
26,508 posts
124 months
|
Carfolio said: Yet more undignified convulsions. It was doomed the second GM got hold of it. SAAB has taken 20 odd years to die, and it still hasn't gone. Imagine what could have been, had the right buyer been found first time around! I don't know, SAABs are traditionally bought by architects and hybrids are right up their street.
|
|
|
davepoth
19,965 posts
68 months
|
I think this is their best chance of doing something interesting, out of all the other options that have come up. Best of luck to them.
|
|
|
mat777
3,012 posts
29 months
|
Great - turn a maker of great cars into producer of s  tty "eco" hybrids that we all known are far from green at all. Way to ruin a proud brand
|
|
|
tomoleeds
346 posts
55 months
|
SAABs main brand is the 93/95 a 4 door saloon, there are too many alternatives for there brand to sell,Ford Mondeo,Vauhall Isignia,Bmw 3/5 series,Audi A4. Mercedes C200/220,VW passat, plus Honda,Mazda, etc think a new saab brand should concentrate on doind something diffrent, but what i domt know?
|
|
|
Chicane-UK
2,593 posts
54 months
|
B10 said: So it is the company AND the brand that has been sold. To me a brand is not a company. Sorry being a bit of a pendant. Do you enjoy being jewellery?  Sorry.. being a bit of a pedant 
|
|
|
williredale
1,158 posts
21 months
|
I don't know but this could be something interesting. It depends what they make of it I guess and where the market goes.
I hope we're not sat here in a couple of years talking about the failure of Saab again...
|
|
|
Luca Brasi
762 posts
43 months
|
mat777 said: Great - turn a maker of great cars into producer of s tty "eco" hybrids that we all known are far from green at all. Way to ruin a proud brand This.
|
|
|
farrendahl
1,227 posts
43 months
|
mat777 said: Great - turn a maker of great cars into producer of s tty "eco" hybrids that we all known are far from green at all. Way to ruin a proud brand Personally I think thats a bit harsh, especially as the purchase of Saab will be what SAVES it from vanishing completely. If anythign that doesn't ruin a proud brand, it gives it a second lease at life.
|
|
|
kwak
178 posts
21 months
|
B10 said: So it is the company AND the brand that has been sold. To me a brand is not a company. Sorry being a bit of a pendant. I thought the factory was also included here? Anyway, this might turn out interesting or another dissapiontment, I'm curious what it is going to be. Does anyone know what happened to the patents and technology from the variable compression engine saab was working on in the late '90s? Now that would come in handy in this era of fuel economy.
|
|
|
ewenm
24,467 posts
114 months
|
mat777 said: Great - turn a maker of great cars into producer of s tty "eco" hybrids that we all known are far from green at all. Way to ruin a proud brand Name SAAB's last "great" car.
|
|
|
billzeebub
2,361 posts
68 months
|
FFS..come back Vauxhall, all is forgiven!..
|
|
|
mr2j
188 posts
27 months
|
21st century sonnett please.
|
|
|
Roop
5,981 posts
153 months
|
SAAB, an iconic Swedish brand goes back to Swedish ownership. That's a win as far as I am concerned.
They have engineering and manufacturing expertise already and now throw in electric/hybrid expertise. It's got to be interesting...
|
|
|
XitUp
7,690 posts
73 months
|
Hey, I said they should start making hybrids on that other thread ages ago. I want my cut! mat777 said: Great - turn a maker of great cars into producer of s tty "eco" hybrids that we all known are far from green at all. Way to ruin a proud brand Oh ffs, no car is 'green'. Hybrids are a lot less dirty than other cars. This is fact, get over it. And there is no reason a hybrid can't be interesting. A lot more interesting than a rebodied diesel Vauxhall for a start. Luca Brasi said: This. 
|
|
|
drpep
1,054 posts
37 months
|
More front wheel drive irrelevance... Next! (happy for the workers though)
|
|
