Saab Owner NEVS Facing Bankruptcy Push: Report

Saab just cannot catch a break. New reports this week suggest the Swedish brand’s future again hangs in the balance.

The beleaguered brand was plucked from purgatory by Chinese-backed international conglomerate National Electric Vehicle Sweden (NEVS) last year, with production restarted late in 2013.

But, just five months into 2014, production was halted by what NEVS described as a “short term cash problem”.

It seemed that a key investor in the revitalised Saab project, Qingbo Investment Co. Ltd, had failed to keep its end of the bargain, leaving NEVS’ majority owner National Modern Energy Holdings Ltd as the sole financier.

This week, news outlet AP reports that supplier Labo Test has petitioned a Swedish court to declare NEVS bankrupt.

The company, which supplies equipment for the testing of components, said NEVS had failed to pay bills of 150,000 kronor (AU$29,000) since February.

Full details are still to come, however NEVS may find a saviour in Indian giant Mahindra & Mahindra if recent reports of a potential investment come to fruition.

Mahindra would not be the first Indian company to take on a European brand, with Tata now enjoying the results - and an increase in overall profits - of its 2008 acquisition of Jaguar and Land Rover. 

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