Photo: Saab
The wagon version of the 9-3 will be offered sometime in the future, right after the automaker will launch the electric version of the 9-3 sedan. Currently, the 9-3 EV undergoes a pilot launch in the Chinese town of Qingdao, which itself happens to own 22 percent of NEVS, the Chinese consortium that got Saab out of bankruptcy.
About 200 9-3 EVs will ultimately be shipped off to Qingdao. Boasting a 124 miles range on full charge and having its batteries pack mounted down low in the chassis for a low center of gravity, the electric model might prove to be a great addition to the reborn Saab model lineup.
9-3 sedan and EV aside, the Saab range will be broadened as soon as 2015 with an all-new SportCombi model, the good looking wagon version of the mid-size vehicle. In correspondence with Autoblog, National Electric Vehicle Sweden's communications director Mikael Ostlund declared that nothing has been decided yet about "the option of adding the convertible" back in the 9-3 lineup.
Both the 9-3 sedan and EV are underpinned by the GM-developed Phoenix platform. Designed by Jason Castriota, the 2011 PhoeniX concept was Saab's ticket to replace the 9-3 with an all-new more modern and attractive model. The NEVS official said to the aforementioned publication that the Chinese consortium owning Saab is further developing the platform in order to "develop different models and bodystyles out of it."
All three reborn Saabs will be commercialized at first only in Sweden and China. "As we have a global perspective we want to add markets when we can see a profitable business case," reports Ostlund.
9-3 sedan and EV aside, the Saab range will be broadened as soon as 2015 with an all-new SportCombi model, the good looking wagon version of the mid-size vehicle. In correspondence with Autoblog, National Electric Vehicle Sweden's communications director Mikael Ostlund declared that nothing has been decided yet about "the option of adding the convertible" back in the 9-3 lineup.
Both the 9-3 sedan and EV are underpinned by the GM-developed Phoenix platform. Designed by Jason Castriota, the 2011 PhoeniX concept was Saab's ticket to replace the 9-3 with an all-new more modern and attractive model. The NEVS official said to the aforementioned publication that the Chinese consortium owning Saab is further developing the platform in order to "develop different models and bodystyles out of it."
All three reborn Saabs will be commercialized at first only in Sweden and China. "As we have a global perspective we want to add markets when we can see a profitable business case," reports Ostlund.
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