On Tuesday, hot on the heels of receiving a 86 million SEK ($12 million-ish USD) grant a week earlier, the Saab ‘coalition’ debuted the 2010 ZE Saab 9-3 electric car. It is a shame it will likely never see the light of day.
The ZE Saab (ZE stands for zero emissions) had twin electric motors putting out 335 HP, propelling it to 62 MPH in around 6.5 seconds. The car was estimated to have a range of 150 km (93 miles) on a 26 kWh battery supplied by Boston Power, with additional/larger batteries reported to be in the works for the future.
The Saab coalition had announced 100 units to be produced in 2010, and predicted up to 10 billion 60,000 by 2020.
Unfortunately for the ZE 9-3, the wheels fell off the bus at Saab on Friday, with the announcement that GM’s replacement suitor for Koenigsegg, namely Spyker cars, could not come to a agreement to buy the beleaguered brand. GM Europe President, Nick Reilly made this statement:
“We regret that we were not able to complete this transaction with Spyker Cars. We will work closely with the Saab organization to wind down the business in an orderly and responsible manner.”
GM did further explain the failure of the deal by saying, “Despite the best efforts of all involved, it has become very clear that the due diligence required to complete this complex transaction could not be executed in a reasonable time. In order to maintain operations, Saab needed a quick resolution.”
I basically interpret this to mean that GM is once again paranoid (see Opel deal) about giving up control of newer/future platforms (and the intellectual property that goes with them) to a small shell company, that is backed by a huge Russian banking group (this time the Konvers Group)…which as far as I can tell is controlled by the mob (or something not too dissimilar to it).
A fellow by the name of Alexander Antonov controls the Konvers group, whose business practices just happened to make him the recent target of a assassination attempt this year on Moscow streets. (He was shot half dozen or so times…no death) Reuters reports the attempt was a result of his, “professional activities.” Probably not the best partner.
/good call GM
In a way Saab will still live on. Chinese auto maker BAIC acquired the rights to three current/old generation Saab vehicle platforms. The salvageable parts of the technology will move from Sweden to Beijing for integration into BAIC’s lineup. BAIC expects new products from Saab technology as soon as 2011. The new models on this platform will not be marketed as Saabs.
Most exciting promotional video of a upcoming electric car ever (it is like they knew):



