Time goes by and its now about 8 years since Saab went out of business in its original setting.
NEVS have had their ups and downs. They have mostly been struggling under harsh financial conditions. Something employees from the Saab days are used to, but probably not too happy about. Lately a new major owner, Evergrande, has entered the scene and the wheels are spinning faster again in Trollhättan. Focus is still on the Chinese market and there are currently no formal plans for launching products in Europe or the US.
Quite surprisingly, NEVS lately bought about 20% of the Swedish supercar maker, Koenigsegg. Koenigsegg and NEVS are also planning for a joint venture company which will produce electric cars and hybrids. Rumors say that Koenigsegg would like to gain access to the Trollhättan plant in order to produce “cheaper” electric cars. The reason for NEVS doing this deal is not that clear. NEVS are focusing on sustainable transport solutions, which has little to do with supercars.
You may remember that Koenigsegg was one of the potential buyers of Saab back in the days. Koenigsegg is now the employer of Saabs United´s founder Steven Wade, Swade.
Another car manufacturer in the western part of Sweden is Volvo. Volvo has been doing great lately, better than ever, I imagine. New plants, lots of new models, lots of sales. Many former employees of Saab have found a new job at Volvo Cars.
The picture below was taken last weekend in the heart of Volvo-land, Torslanda. You may recognize the slogan from Volvo commercials with Swedish celebrities like footballer, Zlatan. The car in the foreground however, is made by Trollhättan.
