Saab’s new owner, National Electric Vehicle Sweden, has restarted production of the Saab 9-3 sedan in Trollhattan, Sweden. Sales of the mid-sized sedan will be “initially focused” in China, NEVS said in a statement.
NEVS says production of its first Saab model, the 9-3 Aero fitted with a 2.0-liter turbo-gasoline engine, will be “very modest” with output of 10 cars a week. NEVS is owned by National Modern Energy Holdings in Hong Kong, which is run by Swedish-Chinese entrepreneur Kai Johan Jiang. After a deal this year, NEVS is 22 percent owned by the Chinese city of Qingdao.
In its statement, NEVS said a small number of vehicles will be sold directly to Swedish customers via its Web site starting this week. The car resembles the last 9-3 built at Trollhattan two years ago.
The last cars made by the automaker rolled off the production line in 2011. Saab, then under the control of Spyker NV, filed for bankruptcy on Dec. 19 of that year. NEVS bought Saab out of bankruptcy last August.
— David Jolley
