NEVS

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]

This article is about Swedish electric car manufacturer. For NEVs in United States, see Neighborhood Electric Vehicle. For NEVs in China, see Plug-in electric vehicles in China.

NEVS AB
TypeSubsidiary
IndustryAutomotive
PredecessorSaab's factories and assets
Founded2012 (2012)
Defunct2023
FateLiquidated by owner (Evergrande Group)
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

History

On 31 August 2012, NEVS acquired the main assets of the Saab Automobile bankruptcy estates.[5]

In December 2015 the company signed a strategic collaboration agreement with the Chinese company Panda New Energy, an energy vehicle leasing company that focuses on limiting emissions. According to the agreement, NEVS will provide Panda with 150,000 9-3 sedan electric vehicles until the end of 2020.[6]

NEVS signed a battery contract with Contemporary Amperex Technology in 2017.[7]

In 2017, DiDi announced to place a SEK 4 billion order.[8] However, the agreement was collapsed.[9]

In early 2019, NEVS acquired a 20% stake in Koenigsegg for €150 million.[10] Koenigsegg has since then bought the stake back from NEVS.[11]

Owners and management

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.[12]

In July 2020, Evergrande Health announced plans to privatizate NEVS by acquiring all the shares of NEVS.[13] The company also announced a rebranding to China Evergrande New Energy Vehicle Group.

In 2021, it was reported that Evergrande was deep in debt[14] and so was trying to sell NEVS to various Chinese investment firms, such as the Xiaomi Consortium.[15][16] If all of Evergrande's automobile division is sold to a new owner, it is likely that sister brand Hengchi[17] will be the marque that will survive, as NEVS has struggled to put their version of the Saab 9-3 into production at their Tianjin plant.

Liquidation

In 2023, it was announced that NEVS would enter a permanent "Hibernation Mode" to avoid bankruptcy, which will essentially liquidate the company.[18]

Emily GT Revival and Secret Investors

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.[19]

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.[20] 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."[19]

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 addition, the acquisition indicates a possible rebranding of both the marque and model name, although there is no indication as to what these might be.[20]

According to SAAB Planet, the parties will convene on the 32nd week of 2023 (beginning Monday, August 7) and a formal announcement is expected soon after. Production of the Emily GT could begin as early as autumn of 2023, although the timeline is still unofficial.[21]

Vehicles
  • 9-3 EV (2013–2014; 2019–2022), a compact electric sedan based on the Saab 9-3.[22]
  • Sango, a prototype self-driving 6 passenger vehicle for city mobility.[23]
  • Emily GT (2020), a cancelled project for an electric sedan designed by Simon Padian.[24][25]
  • Emily GTO, a planned convertible version of the Emily GT.[26]

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. "About us". NEVS. Retrieved 26 September 2017.
  6. "China's Panda New Energy places $12bn-order for Nevs electric cars". Yahoo!. AFP. 17 December 2015. Retrieved 18 September 2020.
  7. Lambert, Fred (1 March 2017). "Chinese battery maker signs massive supply contract with NEVS ahead of build out of new Gigafactory-size plant".
  8. ""Kinas Uber" går in i Nevs - DN.SE". 26 October 2017. Archived from the original on 26 October 2017.
  9. Lambert, Fred (11 April 2018). "Didi reportedly pulls out of massive electric car order with NEVS". electrek.co. Retrieved 18 September 2020.
  10. 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.
  11. "Koenigsegg regains full ownership over the Gemera production company". News Cision.
  12. "NEVS - Evergrande Group new main owner in NEVS AB" (Press release). NEVS. Archived from the original on 21 January 2019. Retrieved 29 January 2019.
  13. 【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.
  14. "5 things to know about the Evergrande crisis: A simple breakdown". 24 September 2021.
  15. "Saab-Assets Owner NEVS Could be Sold off to Xiaomi Consortium". 24 August 2021.
  16. "NEVS President Confirms Evergrande Exploring Sale, Says Several Groups Interested in Last Remnants of Saab". 15 October 2021.
  17. "Hengchi Storms Shanghai Show with Nine New Models". 19 April 2021.
  18. "NEVS - China Evergrande Group gives NEVS New Business Directions". www.nevs.com. Retrieved 23 March 2023.
  19. "Fastighetsägaren om Nevs hemliga investerare: "Kommer bli biltillverkning på Stallbacka"". TTELA (in Swedish). 24 July 2023. Retrieved 2 August 2023.
  20. Söderlind, Alrik (21 July 2023). "Bekräftat: Nevs Emily GT ska byggas!". auto motor & sport (in Swedish). Retrieved 2 August 2023.
  21. Jokić, Konstantin (26 July 2023). "Swedish Millionaire Confirms: Production of Electric Cars Based on Emily GT Project to Commence in Trollhättan". Retrieved 2 August 2023.
  22. "NEVS launches electric-car output with Saab 9-3 platform in China". Automotive News Europe. 9 July 2019.
  23. "NEVS launches PONS – the first mobility ecosystem with autonomous vehicles for city needs". Mynewsdesk. Retrieved 30 December 2020.
  24. Bell, Sebastien (27 April 2023). "The Secret NEVS Emily GT Project Is The Electric SAAB That Never Was". Carscoops.
  25. "NEVS Emily GT: Saab engineers shock with 621-mile EV". Autocar. 28 April 2023.
  26. 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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