Turkey Buys Rights to Saab 9-3 Car

The Turkish government says it has purchased the rights to the second-generation Saab 9-3 sedan from National Electric Vehicles Sweden AB. Financial details weren't disclosed.

The deal, which had been in the works for about five months, includes the intellectual property rights for the 13-year-old vehicle but not the model or brand names. The goal is to build a Turkish “national car” based on the 9-3 platform.

Working with the Scientific and Technological Research Council of Turkey (TUBITAK), NEVS has delivered three prototype vehicles to Turkey. The prototypes appear to feature design cues from the 9-3-based Cadillac BLS, which was sold briefly in Europe last decade.

Turkey says about 85% of the new car’s parts will be produced locally. The vehicles initially will be powered by gasoline and diesel 4-cylinder engines, but all-electric variants also are being considered, according to media reports. NEVS signed an agreement in August to co-develop electrified vehicles with China’s Dongfeng Motor Corp.

TUBITAK plans to launch the new model by the end of the decade, but says it may need a partner to do so. Going it alone would require as much as a $1 billion investment, Fikri Isik, Turkey’s Science, Industry and Technology minister, tells TRT, Turkey’s national television network.

NEVS, a Chinese-Japanese investment group, bought the assets of bankrupt Saab Automobile in 2012 after former owner Spyker Cars NV filed for bankruptcy. The company resumed low-volume production of the Saab 9-3 in late 2013 but ran out of cash and suspended output in May 2014.