NEVS, a Swedish electric-vehicle startup best known for its attempt to revive Saab cars in the early 2010s, announced that it is shutting down its production development activities as part of a “hibernation plan.” The shutdown was announced in a brief statement on the NEVS website, which also said that the company is accepting inquiries about its properties for sale.
Last week, Automobilwoche reported (subscription required) that Polestar has applied to use a former Saab R&D facility in Trollhättan, Sweden, for developing electric powertrains.
NEVS was last owned by the Chinese conglomerate Evergrande Group, whose main property development arm ran into financial difficulties in 2021 with debts of over $300 billion. NEVS then searched for a buyer as funding dried up.
NEVS starts production of 2014 Saab 9-3
Evergrande survived and in late 2022, its EV startup Hengchi began customer deliveries of vehicles in China. Meanwhile, NEVS had plans to launch its own EVs, but ultimately pivoted to developing mobility services like self-driving taxis.
NEVS acquired the assets of Saab in 2012 after the automaker went bankrupt the previous year. The goal was to continue producing Saab cars in both China and Sweden. Although NEVS briefly restarted Saab 9-3 production in 2013 at the Trollhättan plant, it ran out of funding less than two years later and halted production. NEVS lost the rights to use the Saab name in 2014 and later tried to launch EVs under its own name but failed to do so.
