The production version of the NEVS 9-3 will be unveiled on June 7 on the CES Asia in Shanghai. The NEVS 9-3 is a new electric car based on the Saab 9-3. The latest spy shots show that NEVS didn’t change much to the Saab’s design; they closed the grille and added a new bumper.
The NEVS 9-3 will have a range of 300 kilometers and a top speed of 140 kilometers per hour. No news yet on power.
NEVS has signed a deal with Chinese company Contemporary Amperex Technology Co., Limited (CATL) to supply the batteries, and they are also working on a hybrid variant of the 9-3.
The NEVS 9-3 will be manufactured in a new factory in Tianjin in China. The first 150.000 vehicles will go to Panda New Energy, a EV-leasing company based in Beijing. But the Swedish side of the operation is still alive as well; NEVS lists ten vacancies in Trollhattan.
NEVS added new lights and a new strip above the license plate area.
It is nice to see that a small part of old Saab lives on, but the question is for how long. The 9-3 is a seriously old car, even with a new electric drive train. New looks would help a lot, but it seems NEVS simply doesn’t have the resources to develop a new design.
Reinventing the ‘Dinosaur’ which no one wanted in the first place
???
GM USA, Opel Germany and the Swedish Government joined forces to kill SAAB Automobile. And they succeeded!
That must be what you meen…
No bumper, tailights or strip has changed. Put your glasses on.
The continuation of the 9-3 as an EV is simply to satisfy the contract signed with Panda New Energy. If the contract is successfully completed, then new models for consumer sales can be developed. NEVS has also taken on assembly work for other companies to earn profits for it’s own future projects. Their success is far from assured, but they seem to be taking a realistic approach to their EV plans. I wish them well.
Those are old Pictures, the car will NOT look like that.
/Sweden Out
Qingdao City and Panda are waiting patiently for a return on their commitments to NEVS.
Elsewhere central government must be betting on NEVS success, otherwise would it have granted the much coveted NEV production license?
As for the deck lid chrome trim, now de rigueur on sedans, it’s really all NEVs could afford at this point.
Who gives a hoot about what it looks like; I have a 2004 petrol one of these, and it is a tank, incredibly safe and stable (which you can’t say for many Jap front wheel drive cars)
If it is cheap enough, has a decent build quality and is well supported it will sell