NEVS AB
TypeSubsidiary
IndustryAutomotive
PredecessorSaab's factories and assets
Founded2012 (2012)
Defunct2023
FateLiquidated by owner (Evergrande Group)
SuccessorRights to Emily GT and PONS projects purchased by EV Electra
Headquarters
Trollhättan
,
Sweden
Number of locations
Fuzhou, China
Toronto, Ontario, Canada
Key people
Stefan Tilk (President)
ProductsAutomobiles
Number of employees
1000+ (2018)[1]
ParentChina Evergrande New Energy Vehicle Group
Websitewww.nevs.com

NEVS AB (an abbreviated form of "National Electric Vehicle Sweden")[2] was a Swedish electric car manufacturer which acquired the assets of Saab Automobile from a bankruptcy estate in 2012. NEVS was the trademark of the company's products including the first electric vehicle based on the 9-3 platform which was to start in 2017. The company was closed in March 2023,[3] with Polestar interested in buying the former Trollhättan factory.[4]

History

Acquisition of Saab Automobile assets and restart of production

In May 2012, NEVS announced that it had submitted a bid for Saab Automobile's bankruptcy estate, and planned to run an electric vehicle business at the Saab factory in Trollhättan, Sweden. [5] In August 2012, NEVS acquired the main assets of the Saab Automobile bankruptcy estates.[6]

NEVS signed a licensing agreement with Saab AB regarding the rights to use the Saab brand name for its future vehicles. The vehicles and related products and services were named Saab, although the former Saab griffin logo was not used, as Saab AB and Scania AB, who own the rights to use the griffin, did not grant NEVS the right to use it.

NEVS restarted production of the Saab 9-3 in September 2013 at Saab's former Trollhättan assembly plant. Two pre-production vehicles were made to calibrate assembly equipment and test new components. The only exterior difference was the lack of the Griffin badge, which was replaced with a badge displaying the Saab logotype. [7]

In October 2013, NEVS confirmed a restart of full production by autumn of 2013, adding that negotiations with suppliers are being finalized. A total 15 of 30 pre-production models had now been assembled, and 347 employees were working at the Trollhättan plant.[8]

In November 2013, NEVS announced that full-scale production of a petrol-powered variant of the Saab 9-3 Aero would commence on December 2, 2013, having replaced the 20% of parts originally sourced from former owner General Motors. [9] Stig Runesson was replaced as the head of Manufacturing & Facilities for NEVS by Morgan Fransson on March 1, 2014. [10]

In May 2014, NEVS announced 'a short term stop of production' of the 9-3 due to cash flow problems. [11] On August 29, 2014 creditor protection was granted but NEVS lost the right to use the Saab brand name. [12]

In December 2015 the company signed a strategic collaboration agreement with the Chinese company Panda New Energy, an energy vehicle leasing company focusing on limiting emissions. According to the agreement, NEVS would provide Panda with 150,000 9-3 sedan electric vehicles until the end of 2020.[13]

In January 2016, Saab AB confirmed that NEVS would not be allowed to use the Saab brand on future car models. [14]

NEVS signed a battery contract with Contemporary Amperex Technology in 2017.[15]

In 2017, Chinese vehicle hire company DiDi announced it was placing a SEK 4 billion order for a total of one million cars.[16] However, the agreement subsequently collapsed.[17]

Acquisition by Evergrande Group and financial troubles

Chinese real estate conglomerate Evergrande Group, via its listed subsidiary: Evergrande Health Industry Group (Evergrande Health; SEHK:708), acquired 51% of the shares in NEVS in January 2019.[18] In the same month, NEVS acquired a 20% stake in Koenigsegg for €150 million.[19] Koenigsegg has since then bought the stake back from NEVS.[20]

In July 2020, Evergrande Health announced plans to privatizate NEVS by acquiring all the shares of NEVS.[21] The company also announced a rebranding to China Evergrande New Energy Vehicle Group.

In 2021, it was reported that NEVS owner Evergrande Group was deep in debt[22] and so was trying to sell NEVS to various Chinese investment firms, such as the Xiaomi Consortium.[23][24] In 2023, it was announced that NEVS would enter a permanent "Hibernation Mode" to avoid bankruptcy, despite efforts to sell the company. This essentially liquidated NEVS.[25]

EV Electra and Emily GT Revival

In May 2023, NEVS sold 80% of the Trollhättan factory to Stenhaga Invest AB, a holding company owned by Swedish millionaire Svante Andersson. Ownership of the property was expected to be transferred by June, but has been delayed to October 2023. On completion, NEVS will retain the remaining 20% share of the property.[26]

In July 2023, Auto Motor und Sport magazine reported that a secret investor had signed a letter of intent to purchase both the Emily GT and PONS projects from NEVS.[27] According to the report, the investment was contingent on production of the vehicles at the dormant Trollhättan factory. This was corroborated by Stenhaga owner Svante Andersson, who stated in an interview with Ttela:

"Jag vet vilka det är men det är inget jag vill prata om. Det får komma från Nevs men jag kan säga att det är en betydande del av fabriken som de kommer använda, även kontor och de behöver anställa ett stort antal medarbetare."[26]

English Translation:

"I know who [the investors] are, but it's not something I want to talk about. It may come from NEVS but I can say that it is a significant part of the factory that they will use, also offices and they need to hire a large number of employees."

In December 2023, EV Electra CEO Jihad Mohammad announced that his company had purchased the rights to the Emily GT and PONS projects, with the Emily GT being renamed the 'EV Electra Emily GT'. [28] A joint statement between NEVS and EV Electra revealed that EV Electra will soon begin to produce cars in Turkey, with Mohammad adding that cars will soon be produced at Trollhättan again. [29]

Vehicles

  • 9-3 EV (2013–2014; 2019–2022), a compact electric sedan based on the Saab 9-3.[30]
  • Sango, a prototype self-driving 6 passenger vehicle for city mobility.[31]
  • Emily GT (2020), a cancelled project for an electric sedan designed by Simon Padian.[32][33]
  • Emily GTO, a planned convertible version of the Emily GT.[34]

See also

References

  1. ↑ "NEVS Annual Report 2018" (PDF). NEVS. Retrieved 12 January 2020.
  2. ↑ "Koenigsegg to accelerate growth in the hyper car market with EUR 150 million funding from NEVS (National Electric Vehicle Sweden)". News.EuropaWire.eu. 30 January 2019. Retrieved 29 October 2020.
  3. ↑ Gauthier, Michael (12 March 2023). "Saab's Ghost Comes Back To Haunt Once Again As NEVS Goes Into "Hibernation Mode"". Carscoops.
  4. ↑ Anderson, Brad (24 April 2023). "Polestar To Open New R&D Facility At Former Saab Factory". Carscoops.
  5. ↑ "Bekräftat intresse för Saab" (in Swedish). 24 May 2012.
  6. ↑ "About us". NEVS. Retrieved 26 September 2017.
  7. ↑ Zalstein, David (19 September 2013). "Saab production resumes in Trollhattan under NEVS control". Drive. Retrieved 19 September 2013.
  8. ↑ Warburton, Simon. "SWEDEN: Nevs sticks to autumn Saab 9-3 relaunch date". just-auto. Retrieved 15 October 2013.
  9. ↑ Jolley, David (29 November 2013). "Saab will resume series production of the 9-3 sedan on Monday". Automotive News Europe. Retrieved 29 November 2013.
  10. ↑ Östlund, Mikael. "Morgan Fransson appointed head of manufacturing from 1st March". National Electric Vehicle Sweden. Retrieved 4 March 2014.
  11. ↑ "National Electric Vehicle Sweden AB". Retrieved 14 July 2015.
  12. ↑ "Saab carmaker NEVS granted creditor protection by court but loses right to use Saab name". Automotive News Europe. 29 August 2014. Retrieved 31 January 2016.
  13. ↑ "China's Panda New Energy places $12bn-order for Nevs electric cars". Yahoo!. AFP. 17 December 2015. Retrieved 18 September 2020.
  14. ↑ "Saab name won't be revived under Chinese owners". Automotive News. 30 January 2016. Retrieved 31 January 2016.
  15. ↑ Lambert, Fred (1 March 2017). "Chinese battery maker signs massive supply contract with NEVS ahead of build out of new Gigafactory-size plant".
  16. ↑ ""Kinas Uber" går in i Nevs - DN.SE". 26 October 2017. Archived from the original on 26 October 2017.
  17. ↑ Lambert, Fred (11 April 2018). "Didi reportedly pulls out of massive electric car order with NEVS". electrek.co. Retrieved 18 September 2020.
  18. ↑ "NEVS - Evergrande Group new main owner in NEVS AB" (Press release). NEVS. Archived from the original on 21 January 2019. Retrieved 29 January 2019.
  19. ↑ Petrány, Máté (29 January 2019). "Koenigsegg Sells a 20-Percent Stake to Company That Owns Saab's Assets". Road and Track. US. Retrieved 17 March 2019.
  20. ↑ "Koenigsegg regains full ownership over the Gemera production company". News Cision.
  21. ↑ 【港股追蹤】恒大健康改名「恒大汽車」 市值2600億直迫地產旗艦. Hong Kong Economic Times (in Chinese (Hong Kong)). 28 July 2020. Retrieved 18 September 2020.
  22. ↑ "5 things to know about the Evergrande crisis: A simple breakdown". 24 September 2021.
  23. ↑ "Saab-Assets Owner NEVS Could be Sold off to Xiaomi Consortium". 24 August 2021.
  24. ↑ "NEVS President Confirms Evergrande Exploring Sale, Says Several Groups Interested in Last Remnants of Saab". 15 October 2021.
  25. ↑ "NEVS - China Evergrande Group gives NEVS New Business Directions". www.nevs.com. Retrieved 23 March 2023.
  26. 1 2 "Fastighetsägaren om Nevs hemliga investerare: "Kommer bli biltillverkning på Stallbacka"". TTELA (in Swedish). 24 July 2023. Retrieved 2 August 2023.
  27. ↑ Söderlind, Alrik (21 July 2023). "Bekräftat: Nevs Emily GT ska byggas!". auto motor & sport (in Swedish). Retrieved 2 August 2023.
  28. ↑ Vijayenthiran, Viknesh (6 December 2023). "NEVS EV designed by former Saab engineers may be revived". Motor Authority. Retrieved 7 December 2023.
  29. ↑ Martin, Charlie (1 December 2023). "Saab-engineered Nevs Emily GT saved by Canadian EV start-up". Autocar. Retrieved 7 December 2023.
  30. ↑ "NEVS launches electric-car output with Saab 9-3 platform in China". Automotive News Europe. 9 July 2019.
  31. ↑ "NEVS launches PONS – the first mobility ecosystem with autonomous vehicles for city needs". Mynewsdesk. Retrieved 30 December 2020.
  32. ↑ Bell, Sebastien (27 April 2023). "The Secret NEVS Emily GT Project Is The Electric SAAB That Never Was". Carscoops.
  33. ↑ "NEVS Emily GT: Saab engineers shock with 621-mile EV". Autocar. 28 April 2023.
  34. ↑ Anderson, Brad (2 May 2023). "NEVS Designed A Convertible 'GTO' Version Of The SAAB-Like Emily EV Before It Was Shuttered". Carscoops.
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