NEVS And Saab Getting The Brand Back Together: Sale Confirmed
Saab administrators have approved the purchase of the embattled Swedish brand by a Sino/Japanese consortium, the National Electric Vehicle Sweden AB (NEVS).
TMR reported last week that NEVS had made a bid for the manufacturer, which the Swedish pre
Saab administrators have approved the purchase of the embattled Swedish brand by a Sino/Japanese consortium, the National Electric Vehicle Sweden AB (NEVS).
TMR reported last week that NEVS had made a bid for the manufacturer, which the Swedish press prematurely reported as successful.
Trollhätten city council quickly refuted the reports, but NEVS has now confirmed the purchase.
In an official statement from the company, NEVS confirms that the sale includes the remaining assets of Saab Automobile AB, Saab Automobile Powertrain AB and Saab Automobile Tools AB.
The price of the sale has not been dislosed, and does not include Saab Automobile Parts AB or the intellectual property rights for the Saab 9-5, the latter remaining under General Motors ownership.
Saab Automobile Parts AB, which is responsible for global sales and distribution of Saab parts, will not be included in the sale. This means that Saab Automobile Parts AB will remain an independent company.
"We knew it was a possible scenario that the parts company would remain outside the sale of Saab Automobile AB," Stephen Nicholls, Managing Director of Saab Saab Cars Australia, said.
"I am therefore delighted that the work done by the team in Sweden to support our network of authorized repairers in Australia and New Zealand means we can continue to support our Saab owners."
"There are about 37,000 Saabs on the roads in Australia and New Zealand that we care about. We will continue the work to provide Saab owners with Saab Genuine Parts, service and technical support."
NEVS is a consortium formed purely for the purchase of Saab. It is comprised of a 51 percent stake by Hong Kong-based National Modern Energy Holdings Ltd, with the remaining 49 percent by Japanese investment group Sun Investment LLC.
The statement asserts that NEVS is solely dedicated to the development and manufacture of electric vehicles.
NEVS/Saab's first intended production vehicle will be a pure-electric version of the most recent 9-3 model (likely based on the ePower concept), with a launch targeted for 2014.
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