The company, also called NEVS, said the first
200 cars will be delivered in the spring and will cost 279,000
kronor ($42,500) each. Next year, it will also launch a 9-3
wagon, followed by convertible and electric models.
Saab shut down production in April 2011 after six decades of
building cars as its earlier Dutch owner, Spyker Cars, struggled
with financing. It filed for bankruptcy in December the same
year, dealing a huge blow to the town of Trollhattan and the
company's 3,000 employees.
NEVS now employs around 600 people, including many former Saab
employees, and acting President Mattias Bergman said he felt
"incredibly happy, proud and humble" that the company has been
able to restart production.
Bergman wouldn't give any forecast of how many cars NEVS expects
to sell but said they will start on a small scale and adjust
production based on order intake.
The company aims to make electric cars under the Saab brand, but
said it will also provide gasoline-fuelled cars until "electric
cars fully meet customer demands." It said it decided to start
off with a gasoline-fuelled car to get production going as fast
as possible and retain previous supply chains and specialist
staff.
It said it will start selling its cars directly to Swedish
customers through its website as of Dec. 10.
The luxury sports car maker Spyker Cars bought Saab from General
Motors — itself in bankruptcy protection following the financial
crisis — in 2010. At that time, Saab sales had dwindled to
around 27,000 from a peak of around 133,000 cars in 2006.
GM had acquired a 50 percent stake of Saab in 1989, and gained
full ownership in 2000.
The aircraft and defense company with the same name is an
independent entity, building fighter jets and weapons systems.
[Associated
Press; MALIN RISING]
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