Saab Aims to Resume Output in August

National Electric Vehicle Sweden AB intends to restart production of Saab vehicles in August at the brand's plant in Trollhattan, Sweden, Bloomberg News reports.

The news service cites a letter from NEVS to Saab suppliers informing them it will begin by building diesel-powered 9-3 compact cars.

Saab stopped making vehicles in March 2011 and mothballed the Trollhattan factory when the company entered bankruptcy that December. NEVS, a Chinese-Japanese consortium, bought most of the carmaker's assets late last August.

The new owner originally planned to relaunch Saab in 2014 with an electric model based on the next-generation 9-3 platform. The cars are to be sold mainly in China. But the company said in November it was considering starting with a conventionally powered model, thus generating revenue to fund the EV program.

EV production will begin on schedule next year, according to the NEVS letter. It tells suppliers that annual output in Trollhattan will reach 120,000 vehicles by 2016. Bloomberg notes that NEVS's ambitious goal exceeds last year's total global EV output of 107,200 units.

Earlier this month the company said it would erect a new plant in Qingdao, China, when the Trollhattan factory reaches full operating capacity.