NEVS Completes Acquisition Of Saab, Griffin Logo Ruled Out

National Electric Vehicles Sweden (NEVS) has completed its purchase of Saab, confirming plans to produce a range of electric vehicles under the Swedish brand's banner.

The Sino/Japanese consortium now controls Saab Automobile AB, Saab Automobile Powertrain AB and Saab Automobile Tools AB, along with the Trollhättan manufacturing plant and associated development facilities.

Also included is the intellectual property associated with the Phoenix platform and the most recent Saab 9-3 model.

NEVS has also obtained the rights to use the Saab brand, but not the Griffin logo traditionally associated with it.

Ownership rights to the lion-bodied eagle logo remain with the Saab AB aerospace company and the Scania AB truck manufacturer - long separated from the Saab automobile arm.

The NEVS consortium was formed solely for the purchase of Saab Automobile. The deal is comprised of a 51 percent stake owned by Chinese National Modern Energy Holdings Ltd, with the remaining 49 percent owned by Japanese investment group Sun Investment LLC.

Development of NEVS’ first electric car has already commenced in China and Japan, but chairman Karl-Erling Trogen says that these efforts can now be multiplied.

"With the manufacturing facilities at our possession, we are able to continue development work on site at Trollhättan", CEO Kai Johan Jian said.

This first project will come in the form of a pure-electric version of the recent Saab 9-3 model, with an ambitious launch date planned for the first half of 2014.