NEVS 9-3 Concept Sedan and SUV Build on Saab Heritage

National Electric Vehicle Sweden, which owns the main assets to Saab, is previewing its new 9-3 sedan and 9-3X SUV. The company’s electric vehicles will take part in a car-sharing and ride-sharing pilot program in Tianjin city in China.

On its Instagram account, NEVS posted a photo of the 9-3 sedan and SUV concepts. The company is expected to announce more at the CES Asia show in Shanghai next month, but from these renderings we can see some hints of Saab showing through. Beneath those updated fascias are the bodies of the 9-3 sedan and 9-3X crossover that ceased production in 2012, along with an electric drivetrain in place of the previous gas engines. Production at the Saab plant resumed earlier this year.

The 9-3 series goes on sale next year in China, and the company has already received more than 150,000 orders. NEVS estimates a range of more than 186 miles on a single charge. While borrowing the engineering know-how from Saab, the new vehicles add modern features such as WiFi hotspot, battery management via smartphone, and over-the-air software update capability.

NEVS rescued Saab from bankruptcy in 2012. While it lost the rights to use the Saab name on its vehicles, it acquired the main assets of the brand and its former Trollhattan production plant in Sweden. The company also has a plant in Fujian, China, and a new plant in Tianjin is still under construction but is expected to be operational by the end of the year.

Source: NEVS

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