It seems that SAAB’s current owner and one of the largest car manufacturers in China are up to something.
You might remember that SAAB was bought by National Electric Vehicle Sweden back in 2012. At the time, the Swedish car manufacturer seemed like it could be spectacularly re-born with the help of the Chinese-owned new buyer. Anyway, NEVS had some financial problems, but another Chinese company came to the rescue.
That said, NEVS signed an agreement with the state-owned Dongfeng Corporation in order to jointly develop green cars – among other things. Mind you, this is the second agreement with a Chinese partner announced by Saab’s parent company so far…
The agreement states that NEVS will provide support to Dongfeng so that its own brands’ cars meet regulations and technical specifications of overseas markets and help introduce them to Europe and North America. Dongfeng will, in return, help NEVS to develop and mass-produce eco-friendly vehicles in its Tianjin facility. Moreover, the two companies are planning to jointly purchase components from global suppliers and establish a common distribution network.
Through Dongfeng, a small manufacturer like SAAB can share the development costs and expand its supplier network in order to create competitive automobiles. That said, maybe the future SAAB’s won’t be born from jets, but from jointly developed hybrid platforms for the Chinese market and the rest of the world. If, that is, the plan eventually comes into fruition…
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