New Tang Dynasty Television - A Chinese-born Swedish investor has agreed to buy bankrupt automaker Saab Automobile, bringing it back to life as a maker of electric cars.
Saab crashed into bankruptcy at the end of 2011, less than two years after former owner General Motors sold it to Dutch group Spyker. Though an admired brand, it has struggled for years to survive against bigger competitors.
The National Electric Vehicle Sweden AB, or NEVS AB, was chosen to buy Saab, beating off a bid from Chinese group Zhejiang Youngman Lotus Automobile.
[Kai Johan Jiang, Chief Exec., National Electric Vehicle Sweden AB]:
"Through the purchase of Saab we begin a new era in the auto industry. We become the first global actor focusing on sustainable solutions. We are going to combine Swedish innovation and engineering knowledge with Japanese best technology. Marketing and sales will be global but initially we will focus on China. It's there we see the biggest market for electric cars."
Jiang was born in China but has Swedish citizenship.
NEVS said in a statement it aimed to build a new electric car based on the Saab 9-3 model, which would be launched late next year.
[Karl-Erling Trogen, Chairman, National Electric Vehicle Sweden AB]:
"We are going to build the electric vehicle of the future here in Trollhattan. The plant as you have heard earlier is top class. In parallel we are also addressing the environmental challenges of the future by providing attractive car that the market will demand."
Despite his enthusiasm, Trogen said NEVS would initially need only about 200 staff, well below the 3,500 working at Saab before. The numbers would increase gradually as the launch of a new car approached.
Jiang's National Modern Energy Holdings Ltd has 51 percent of NEVS while Japanese Sun Investment LLC has 49 percent.
Saab was declared insolvent at the end of 2011 with debts of about $1.8 billion.
GM bought 50 percent of the car company in 1990 and the rest in 2000. It decided to sell the brand in 2009 after the financial crisis and almost closed it before Swedish Automobile, then called Spyker, bought Saab in January 2010.
