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Saab's latest Chinese owners facing their own credit woes

Poor Saab, it can't seem to get a break. General Motors couldn't seem to make a go of it, neither could Spyker, and now it seems that its latest owner is encountering some problems of its own.
That owner, of course, is National Electric Vehicle Sweden, a Swedish holding company owned by Chinese investors. NEVS recently restarted production at the Saab plant in Trollhättan, Sweden, and had some ambitious plans for the brand's revival, but it appears to have run out of cash.
This according to a report in The Wall Street Journal, which discovered that NEVS is having trouble paying its suppliers. One such supplier, called Labo Test, has reportedly been owed some $22,000 by NEVS since February, and without payment, petitioned the Swedish government to place NEVS into bankruptcy proceedings. If that seems a little extreme to you over twenty-two grand, it would seem the parties agree, as the petition has reportedly since been withdrawn.

Man in a convertible drives in the rain with a Christmas tree

A man in a convertible had his holiday cheer extinguished thanks to England's infamous weather. Nicholas Dodd saw this sad, soaked through couple while driving down the A38 near Plymouth, Devon, according to the Daily Mirror. Dodd told the publication he couldn't believe his eyes when he saw a Saab, top down, in a pouring rain storm. That's not all. The top was down because of the large Christmas tree wedged in the back seat. "We couldn't believe what we were seeing," Dodd said. "It was crazy - especially with the weather - but I guess he just wanted to get his Christmas tree home anyway he could." The Saab driver's female passenger also looks less than pleased by the sudden squall. "His missus was beside him but they didn't seem to find it as funny as we did," Dodd said. "He was just keeping his head down in a vain attempt to avoid the rain but was getting a real soaking." Dodd posted the video to Facebook, where commenters also had a good laugh at the soaking wet Saab owners. Weird Car News Saab Videos christmas rain

China's Evergrande says it will start making electric vehicles in June

BEIJING — Chinese property firm Evergrande Group will start producing its first electric vehicles in June as part of a goal to become the world's largest new energy vehicle (NEV) company within the next three to five years, according to its chairman. Hui Ka Yan made the comments at a conference in the eastern city of Tianjin over the weekend, according to a statement published on the company's website on Tuesday. "The new energy automobile industry has a huge market prospect. Evergrande has completed the entire industrial chain layout in the field of new energy vehicles," Hui said. He also said that Evergrande plans to start selling its first electric vehicle model globally "soon," which will use electric car production technology from Swedish car makers Saab and Koenigsegg, and drive systems from Netherlands' e-Traction, according to the statement. Evergrande, China's second-largest property developer by sales, has been aggressively expanding into the automotive space in search of new areas of growth as the Chinese property market slows. Its subsidiary, Evergrande Health, invested in vehicle manufacturer National Electric Vehicle Sweden AB (NEVS), which picked up the assets of Saab, and Chinese auto battery maker Shanghai CENAT New Energy Co this year. It is also the majority investor in Swedish super car brand Koenigsegg. Not all of Evergrande's investments have gone smoothly, however. Last year, Evergrande Health bought 45 percent of Chinese electric vehicle firm Faraday Future as part of a $2 billion plan but the deal eventually turned sour. The companies have since ended their legal fight. Sales of NEV vehicles have remained a bright spot in China's car market, jumping 61.7 percent in 2018 to 1.3 million vehicles even as the overall car market contracted for the first time since the 1990s. China's biggest auto industry association predicts NEV sales to hit 1.6 million this year. Auto News Green Plants/Manufacturing Koenigsegg Saab NEVS