Production of Saab 9-3 restarted
* National Electric Vehicle Sweden has restarted production of Saab 9-3 saloon * Sale numbers set to be small; orders taken via company website * Making petrol cars now, with electric model...
The company that bought Saab has restarted production of the 9-3 saloon in Trollhatten in Sweden.
National Electric Vehicle Sweden has produced a petrol-engined saloon version of the 9-3, and has announced its intention to sell a small number of cars to Swedish buyers via its website. It has also said that it intends to make an electric version of the 9-3 as early as spring 2014.
The engine in the 9-3s due to be sold in Sweden is a 217bhp 2.0-litre turbocharged petrol model that was previously used in the 9-3 before Saab went bankrupt in 2011. The plan is to switch production to electric cars from early next year.
The petrol-engined car will be sold solely on the internet and to Swedish buyers, while the electric version is aimed at the Chinese market. NEVS says it has pre-sold the first batch of 200 electric cars to Nevs’ partner and part owner Qingdao. The company has said that China is to be its main focus, and it intends to concentrate on electric cars in the future.
Prices for the Swedish, petrol-powered 9-3 start at around £25,980 for the manual model, with the automatic version costing around £26,910. Sales officially start on December 10.
