Saab Auto Sold to China-Japan Group in Electric-Car Push

[ALS]

“Electric cars are a very tough business with a lot of risk,” and “there’s been almost no demand for them,” said Ferdinand Dudenhoeffer, director of the Center for Automotive Research.

Ola Kinnander - BLOOMBERG - June 13, 2012

A Chinese-Japanese investment group agreed to buy Saab Automobile and convert the bankrupt Swedish manufacturer into a maker of electric cars.

The first vehicle under the plan will be based on Saab’s 9-3 car and will go on sale early in 2014, with China as the main market, purchaser National Electric Vehicle Sweden AB and the bankruptcy administrators for Trollhaettan-based Saab said today in a joint statement. The parties agreed not to disclose the price of Saab’s sale.

“We’re striving to be a world-leading company for electric cars,” Mattias Bergman, a spokesman for National Electric Vehicle Sweden, said at a press conference in Trollhaettan. “It’s not only about China being a big market for electric cars, it’s also about China having the ability to make the investments required and build the needed infrastructure.” ... [Read More]

[herm]

The Chinese want to get in the US market, Saab has a reputation and a dealership network.. plus who can say no to electric cars?.. its almost anti-American

[RichXKU]

Originally Posted by herm

The Chinese want to get in the US market, Saab has a reputation (for quirky and different but inefficient cars with average dependability) and a (small) dealership network..

plus who can say no to electric cars?

The vast majority of middle America that is terrified of change.


I think they will have decent luck selling these in China however. As the article states, that is the main goal.

[herm]

Saab: we want to bring this beautiful rice burner into the US
Congress: NO, its unsafe.. made with non-union slave labor
Saab: but its electric!
Congress: Ohh