Saab Readies EV Test Fleet Based on Next 9-3

Just the Facts:

• Saab will launch a test fleet of what it calls "100 percent electric vehicles" in the first quarter of 2011.
• They will be based on the next Saab 9-3.
• The EV fleet will roll out in various global locations.

NEW YORK — Saab's new management is getting ready to launch a test fleet of "100 percent electric vehicles" based on the next 9-3 in the first quarter of 2011, its top executives said during the media launch of the 2011 Saab 9-5 here on Tuesday. The EV fleet will be deployed at various global locations, including the company's headquarters in Trollhattan, Sweden.

The new 9-5 goes on sale in August.

The Saab EV test fleet will be launched in partnership with Massachusetts-based Boston-Power, a producer of lithium-ion batteries, and Electroengine, a Swedish company that says it has developed a new electric propulsion system that can adapt standard vehicles with internal-combustion engines to high-performance electric vehicles. Another partner is the Swedish Energy Authority.

"The main purpose is to draw technology from this test fleet, technology that we can then incorporate quickly" said Jan Ake Jonsson, CEO of Saab Automobile AB. "The key target short-term is to drive fuel consumption down. You can electrify certain portions of the vehicle."

When asked if 2016 is the target date for a Saab EV, as previously reported in Inside Line, Jonsson ducked the question.

"Everybody is looking at that question," he responded. "Nobody has an answer."

He said "it will take some time" because of the parameters, including "infrastructure and mindset of the consumer."

Jonsson indicated that Saab has made a commitment to alt-fuel vehicles, in part because of the demands of its lenders, including the European Investment Bank and the Swedish government. "All the vehicles that we develop in the future will have capability to utilize E85," he said. "They [will be] available for any market throughout the world."

When asked about biodiesel and diesel Saabs, he said: "That will also come."

Jonsson also said that "smaller-displacement, turbocharged engines will be the key as we go into the future."

He confirmed the launch plans for upcoming Saab vehicles during the press conference. The face-lifted 9-3 will launch in late 2010, followed by the 9-4X in April 2011. In July 2011, a wagon version of the 9-5 will launch. In 2012, a new 9-3 will hit the market. Saab aims at producing 120,000-125,000 vehicles per year globally. The U.S. will continue to be the biggest market for the Swedish automaker, accounting for 20-25 percent of total volume.

The acquisition of Saab by Spyker Cars also means a larger global dealer network for Spyker, said Victor Muller, chairman of Saab Automobile AB and CEO of Spyker Cars. "Saab will give tremendous impetus to the development of Spyker Cars," Muller said. "Spyker now taps into 1,100 dealers worldwide. If 5 percent of them would [sell Spyker vehicles], it would triple the Spyker dealer base. We will see 90 dealers based on the back of the cross-fertilization of Saab and Spyker. [But] there will never been a Saab Spyker or a Spyker Saab."

Muller said he is "proud to see Saab coming out of the ashes."

"We [built] 250 cars in one day last Friday," he noted. [But] we have no crazy projections for the future. We should become profitable by 2012. We should come back to the levels of the pre-crisis. We'll regain the hearts of consumers by demonstrating that Saab as an independent company can deliver on its promises.

Muller said a smaller Saab 92 is "the missing link in our product portfolio."

"We have a design, we have specifications," he said. "The only missing link is making the contract with a potential partner and how we are going to fund it. It's currently not in our business plan, but it has a compelling business case.

When Jonsson was asked about a Saab 9-5 coupe variant, he said it was not in the immediate future. "Our top priority is to see if we can incorporate the Saab 92 before any other variant," he said.

Inside Line says: Saab, once on death row, has ambitious plans for EVs and other goodies. — Anita Lienert, Correspondent