Saab name no longer an option for new owner NEVS – report
It may have a multi billion-dollar supply deal and four all-new models in the wings, but National Electric Vehicle Sweden (NEVS) won’t be using the Saab name to market them.
That’s according to industry journal Automotive News, which reports this week that Swedish aerospace company Saab AB is no longer entertaining any potential for the Saab brand to be used by NEVS, which bought the failed car maker’s assets in early 2012.
The new owner was first robbed of its strongest property later in 2012, when it was decided that the iconic griffin logo, used historically by Saab and the truck maker Scania, would not be allowed to appear on vehicles built by NEVS.
NEVS was again penalised in 2014, losing the right to use the Saab name when it entered administration. Despite having secured promising deals and revealed plans for new models, the company has yet to recover access to the Saab name.
Now, according to Automotive News, Saab AB spokesperson Sebastian Carlsson reaffirmed this week that the group has “revoked their [NEVS] right to use the brand name”, and that no further discussion will be had on the topic.
NEVS appears to have accepted Saab AB’s position, with owner Kai Johan Jiang telling Swedish national broadcaster Sveriges Radio that its new models will be launched under a brand name devised to appeal to the Chinese market.
A spokesperson for NEVS is also reported by Automotive News Europe to have said: "When we launch our upcoming vehicles we will be very precise with what kind of brand we will use”.
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