NEVS, with Saab 9-3 platform, launches EV output at Tianjin plant

A full-electric sedan based on the old Saab 9-3 platform rolled off the production line at Chinese-backed electric vehicle maker NEVS’s plant in the north China port city of Tianjin.

The launch will accelerate NEVS' timetable to start production in other Chinese cities, according to the company’s parent, China Evergrande Group.

The Saab 9-3 platform was part of assets that NEVS - National Electric Vehicle Sweden, a company started by Chinese-born Swedish businessman Kai Johan Jiang in Trollhattan, Sweden - purchased from bankrupt Swedish automaker Saab Automobile in 2012.

The Tianjin factory can initially build 50,000 EVs a year.