An image of the new Saab 9-3 has been leaked. The new vehicle is expected to play a very important role in the struggling Swedish company’s road to recovery. The image was discovered by the Swedish website SVD Näringsliv through a presentation that Saab provided the European Investment Bank last year.
The Saab 9-3 is one of the new models lined up by the resurrected Saab. As part of its recovery, the company is planning to expand its line-up. The Saab 9-3 is expected to be available by 2013 or 2014 together with other vehicles such as the 9-4X and 9-5 SportWagon and new cars under the premium compact category that will probably be labeled as 9-1. The line-up will also include fastback and convertible versions of the 9-3.
The revived Saab will start to go on production early next year once the company’s sale to Chinese investors Youngman and Pang Da has been formalized. The company is planning to expand into China and to reposition itself as a near premium brand.
After many twists and turns, the deal between Saab and Chinese investors Youngman and Pangda was finalized last Friday after last minute talks between Victor Muller, head of Saab’s owner Swedish Automobile NV (Swan) and representatives of Youngman and Pang Da who agreed to buy 100 percent of Saab GB for 100 million euros. The deal though will only be put in effect after it gets approved by the Chinese government.
Youngman and Pang Da has also agreed to provide 50 million euros for the reorganization of Saab Automobile. It also pledged around 615 million euros to clear debts and to restart the production operations at the company’s factory in Trollhättan in Western Sweden that was inactive for around six months already. Chinese companies also agreed to fund the company’s operations for the next two years.
Source: http://www.autocar.co.uk
