The Qingdao Qingbo Investment Co. Ltd., the State Power Group Co. Ltd., and its Swedish subsidiary signed an agreement on 7 January to build SAAB cars in Qingdao, Shandong Province, states the Qingdao Daily newspaper. National Electric Vehicle Sweden AB (NEVS), a sister company to State Power Group Co. Ltd., bought SAAB in June 2012. Both companies are owned by National Modern Energy Holdings, a company founded and controlled by Johan Kai Jiang, a Chinese-Swedish enterpreneur.

According to the Qingdao Daily,the three parties involved pledged to invest 10 billion yuan (1.6 billion dollars) to construct a factory capable of building up to 400,000 automobiles a year, which includes cars powered by both conventional internal-combustion engines and alternative fuel engines. The factory, an R&D center, sales, and procurement centers will be built in Qingdao, a northern Chinese port city.

The Qingdao Qingbo Investment Co. Ltd. is believed to be a company set up by the Chinese government specifically for the SAAB project. That would make the Chinese central government an investor in any future SAAB cars.

By shifting production to China instead of Sweden heavy import tariffs are avoided for cars made under the SAAB brand. A time frame for the building of the factory is unclear, but factory construction in China can be done at a breathtaking pace once approval is granted by the central government.

An official statement by the Swedish subsidiary of NEVS is still pending on this matter. However a source to Saabblog.net states that in the future Qingdao will produce cars for the Asian markets, while Trollhättan will produce them for Europe and the US.

Source

预计年产能40万辆 萨博汽车项目落户青岛

青岛日报1月8日报道 青岛青博投资有限公司、国能电力集团有限公司及其瑞典公司昨日正式签署项目投资协议，计划投资100亿元在我市设立整车厂，生产萨博品牌的传统燃油及新能源汽车。青岛市委副书记、市长张新起，市委常委、西海岸经济新区工委书记张大勇，副市长刘明君，国能电力集团有限公司董事长蒋大龙出席项目签约仪式。

据悉，瑞典萨博汽车公司拥有70余年的历史，凭借独特的设计和安全性，获得了全球高端客户的认同，是全球汽车领域科技创新的典范企业之一。国能电力集团有限公司是全球新能源产业成功典范之一，拥有近350项的发明专利，核心技术位于全球领先水平。

2011年6月13日，国能电力集团有限公司的姊妹公司瑞典国家电动汽车公司成功收购萨博汽车公司、萨博汽车动力系统公司以及萨博汽车工具公司三家企业的主要资产，并依托萨博先进技术及管理在中国投资设立汽车厂。

萨博整车工厂的引进，将成为我省第一家拥有完整乘用车资质的整车工厂，对于带动汽车上下游产业链发展，推动产业高端化、拉动经济增长具有重要意义。该项目达产后，年产值可达1200亿元。项目设计年产能40万辆，一期投资40亿元，生产汽车20万辆。该项目同时计划在我市投资设立萨博（中国）汽车研发中心、制造中心、采购中心和销售中心。