On June 13, 2012 the Associated Press reports:
Swedish automaker Saab Automobile was rescued from insolvency when an Asian consortium sealed a deal to buy the brand’s main assets with the aim of making electric cars.
The price tag for Saab’s assets, which includes the main parts of the automobile manufacturing division, was not made public.
The buyer, National Electric Vehicle Sweden, is owned by Hong Kong-based National Modern Energy Holdings and Japanese investment group Sun Investment. It was recently formed with the purpose of bidding for Saab.
At a news conference Wednesday at Saab’s manufacturing plant in Trollhattan, in western Sweden, National Electric Vehicle Sweden said that it would initially focus on the sale of electric cars in the Chinese market, but that it also has wider plans to expand globally.
“China is investing heavily in developing the electric-vehicle market, which is a key driver for the ongoing technology shift to reduce dependence on fossil fuels,” said Kai Johan Jiang, founder and main owner of National Modern Energy Holdings.
The carmaker’s Saab Parts unit was not included in the agreement and the intellectual property rights for the Saab 9-5 car model, owned by the brand’s former owner General Motors Corp., also were excluded.
Saab, which has more than 3,000 workers, filed for bankruptcy in December last year after its previous owner, the Dutch luxury car group Spyker — later named Swedish Automobile — failed to get sufficient backing for the brand.
Saab Automobile’s sales peaked at 133,000 cars in 2006 but dwindled to just 27,000 in 2009 as GM — itself in bankruptcy protection after the financial crisis — prepared to wind down the Swedish brand.
