SAAB to Resume Production...

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Can it be? New reports this week claim that new Saab owner National Electric Vehicles Sweden (NEVS) is preparing to resume production later this year.

According to Swedish paper Afton Bladet, the company has thrown open the doors of Saab's factory in Trollhättan, recalling workers to get equipment cleaned and ready for action.

But what will the first 'new' Saab be?

Not a new one at all, it seems. At least, not all-new. The Afton Bladet report suggests that a heavily overhauled version of the last 9-3 will be the first range from the revived Saab brand.

If it happens, and it's a big 'if', the born-again 9-3 will apparently get a turbocharged petrol four-cylinder engine, with extensive changes to interior and exterior styling.

New technologies will perhaps also feature - and will be necessary if the overhauled 9-3, launched way back in 2002, is to compete in today's market.

The company's stated plan of producing a new electric Saab range based on the stalled Phoenix platform is also still in the works, although it will be some years before we see those models in production.

Of course, it remains unclear if we will ever see the properly new 9-3 in production. You remember the one: it surfaced online back in March, and would have debuted last year if the carmaker had stayed afloat.

The 9-3 is speculated to return initially in sedan form only, but if things go well, we could wagon and convertible models also return.

It won't be smooth sailing, however, with much of Saab's original supply chain broken after the company's 2011 collapse, and getting dealers back on board won't be easy.
http://www.themotorreport.com.au/571...ars-end-report