Saab Sold Again: Good Luck, Dalong "Kai Johan" Jiang

Bertel Schmitt
by Bertel Schmitt

To the people in the room the buyer of Saab the remaining assets of bankrupt Saab was known before the press conference started today at 1pm at the Saab showroom in Trollhättan. When Dalong “Kai Johan” Jiang takes a seat in the audience, and is joined by his Chairman Karl-Erling Trogen, it is clear what bankruptcy administrator Hans Bergqvist will announce minutes later:

“The buyer is the National Electric Vehicle AB.”

Jiang takes the microphone. He knows his audience and says what everybody wants to hear: “Electric cars powered by green electricity is the future and electric cars will be built in Trollhättan.”

His NEVS company has “acquired a production facility, Saab Tools, test facilities, Saab Powertrain. We have not bought the IP rights of 9-5 and 9-4X, but for 9-3.”

The all-important Saab brand is not mentioned. Saab Parts, held by the Swedish Government is not part of the deal.

Jiang says that his company wants to electrify the Saab 9-3. “We have no interest in the 9-5 or 9-4X. Reason is that GM has no interest to sell the rights. Our interest is in 9-3.” It will be his first product.

The impact on Trollhättan’s job market will remain sedate. Karl-Erling Trogen says that initially, there will only be a few jobs for “engineers and management. We will be helped by Japanese engineers and Chinese, but we can not give an exact forecast today. Initially, a few hundred.” Official press release here.

We wish the buyer of the remaining Saab assets good luck, good luck will be needed if the “new Saab” is to focus on EVs (and possibly hybrids) alone. Saab’s old owner GM had been in the car business for a long time. Even Victor Muller had rudimentary automotive training. NEVS and Jiang know nothing about cars, and that is most likely the reason why they bought what is left in Trollhättan. If you need more background on NEVS, read this.

A few days ago, a top executive of one of the world’s largest automakers commented on a start-up in the U.S. that wants to sell made-in-China EVs: “Poor guys. They have to sell electric cars, and they have to sell cars from China, as if selling EVs is not tough enough.” This executive, who shall remain nameless, works for the market leader in the EV field, he knows what he is talking about. Ask BYD where it stands with its electric car plans. I bet Warren Buffet calls every day and asks the same.

Hybrid cars, while a bit more marketable than EVs, did not take the world by storm either. According to data compiled by Hybridcars, in May, hybrids had a market share of 2.7 percent in the U.S. In Europe, hybrids are a rarity. The few being sold are nearly exclusively Toyotas. In the emerged and emerging markets, hybrids are being laughed at.

An engagement in new energy vehicles takes extremely deep pockets and decades of patience. Toyota, a hybrid pioneer since 1995, does not expect hybrids to go mainstream before 2020. Toyota will tell you that the biggest problem with new energy vehicles is cost: They don’t sell in quantities, because they are expensive. They are expensive, because they don’t sell in quantities. Even a heavyweight player grapples with this conundrum. For a bit player, it means assured destruction.

Only the terminally naive believe that EVs are the vehicles that will take you to quick profits. NEVS-owner Dalong “Kai Johan” Jiang has not yet mastered turning a profit from his Chinese biomass powerplants, and that was the easy part. In the industry, Saab is known as a black hole that sucks up money and destroys it. From giant GM to a man named Muller, all remember iconic Saab as a giant loss generator. With a focus on EVs and possibly hybrids, that hole will get blacker than black. If industry giants cannot turn a profit on these future technologies, bit players will be eaten alive. A hungry black hole is awaiting the next feeding.

Personally, I would not be surprised if the Saab 9-3 tools will show up soon in Beijing, awaited by BAIC, which had bought the previous generation, and which tries hard to make an electrified version out of the heavy car.

Bertel Schmitt
Bertel Schmitt

Bertel Schmitt comes back to journalism after taking a 35 year break in advertising and marketing. He ran and owned advertising agencies in Duesseldorf, Germany, and New York City. Volkswagen A.G. was Bertel's most important corporate account. Schmitt's advertising and marketing career touched many corners of the industry with a special focus on automotive products and services. Since 2004, he lives in Japan and China with his wife <a href="http://www.tomokoandbertel.com"> Tomoko </a>. Bertel Schmitt is a founding board member of the <a href="http://www.offshoresuperseries.com"> Offshore Super Series </a>, an American offshore powerboat racing organization. He is co-owner of the racing team Typhoon.

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  • Icemilkcoffee Icemilkcoffee on Jun 13, 2012

    EV's don't sell in europe now because europe is in bad shape. But mark my word- EV's will have a central role to play in the land of $7 gas.

  • Bugattis11395 Bugattis11395 on Jun 13, 2012

    As much as I don't want to believe it, this is not going to be the Saab we want it to be... Far from it. I can just envision a cheap-looking electric car (not that electrics are bad, but like the article states, they have literally zero experience), no design language, and a reputation that has been sadly tarnished. Damn. Well, best of luck dudes, but I see nothing to look forward to, aside from a day that I'm proven wrong.

  • ToolGuy North America is already the greatest country on the planet, and I have learned to be careful about what I wish for in terms of making changes. I mean, if Greenland wants to buy JDM vehicles, isn't that for the Danes to decide?
  • ToolGuy Once again my home did not catch on fire and my fire extinguisher(s) stayed in the closet, unused. I guess I threw my money away on fire extinguishers.(And by fire extinguishers I mean nuclear missiles.)
  • Carson D The UAW has succeeded in organizing a US VW plant before. There's a reason they don't teach history in the schools any longer. People wouldn't make the same mistakes.
  • B-BodyBuick84 Mitsubishi Pajero Sport of course, a 7 seater, 2.4 turbo-diesel I4 BOF SUV with Super-Select 4WD, centre and rear locking diffs standard of course.
  • Corey Lewis Think how dated this 80s design was by 1995!
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