Saab to Use ZF Chassis

The overhaul of Saab's entire operations, one year after it escaped the dark influence of American manufacturer GM, has taken on a life of its own. Since the beginning of the year, Saab has been announcing either management changes or a new strategy for the models it plans to produce, shaping a future Saab had no hopes for while under GM rule.

Earlier this week, news of Saab going for a new modular chassis for its future models surfaced. On Friday, the producer of the future Saab chassis was named: ZF Chassis Systems. Saab announced that it has signed a partnership with the supplier that will see it create and produce the chassis for the new 9-3, a model slotted to be launched next year.

To ease the partnership between them, ZF will be setting up camp near the Saab Automobile factory in Trollhattan. Once the plant is ready for action, ZF will begin shipping front sub-frames and complete rear axles to the Swedish auto maker.

“This is a significant step in the development of our engineering capabilities,” said Mats Fagerhag, Saab Automobile’s vice president Vehicle Product Development.

“It gives us close access to ZF’s world-class engineering expertise, which will become an integral part of our product development program. It is a win/win situation for us from both a business and an engineering perspective.”

The parts to be supplied by ZF will see their first use, as said, in the new 9-3, but most of them will be used on other Saab vehicles, which will share the 9-3's architecture, in the near future. According to the information available so far, the new Saab platform, called Phoenix, will be used on the 9-3, 9-4x and 9-5 models.