NEVS Inks Saab Investment Deal, Chinese Production Planned: Report

Saab’s new owners, National Electric Vehicles Sweden (NEVS), has reportedly signed an agreement with the Chinese city of Quingdao, which will see the city become a 22 percent shareholder of the Sino/Japanese consortium.

According to Reuters, the deal involves a 2 billion Swedish krona (AU$291 million) investment from the city as part of an initial plan to use the Quingdao port facility to import future Saab models to China.

The long-term plan for the arrangement reportedly includes the establishment of a production facility in Quingdao, once production demand exceeds the capabilities of Saab’s Trollhatten plant in Sweden.

No timeframe has been given for Quindao’s injection of funds, but the deal is likely to be finalised soon if NEVS’ early-2014 production plans are to be realised.

Earlier reports have suggested that initial NEVS-produced Saab models will use petrol drivetrains to help reach this target date, contrasting with the consortium’s initial plan to exclusively produce electric vehicles.