Tag: Electric vehicles

Koenigsegg Agera FE Thor and Vader
Swedish automakers all seem to be going electric, and Chinese investors are bringing them together.

In the latest announcement last week, Hong Kong health-insurance conglomerate Evergrande Health flexed its muscle to scoop up a second Swedish automaker.

Last month, Evergrande, which became most famous in the U.S. for its previous tumultuous investment in Faraday Future, bought a controlling interest National Electric Vehicle Sweden, which represents essentially the remainder of Swedish automaker Saab.

DON'T MISS: Faraday Future funder writes its own Saab story

NEVS now builds electric versions of the last Saab 9-3 for sale in China, and they constitute a large portion of ride-sharing cars in the country.

Last week, Evergrande added to its Swedish auto-making stable when NEVS bought Swedish exotic automaker Koenigsegg, once known for building the fastest production car in the world.

The deal, valued at $170 million, gives NEVS a 20 percent stake in the exotic automaker.

CHECK OUT: With cease-fire agreement, spark flickers toward Faraday's Future

Evergrande has announced its intention to add an electric-car component to its conglomerate and has been scooping up the small Swedes since a large portion of its investment in Faraday Future dissolved in January following legal warfare. The Swedish investments followed quickly after Evergrande and Faraday Future agreed to restrict their tie-up to end their disputes last month.

Koenigsegg builds hyper-exotic sports cars capable of speeds well over 250 mph.

Other hypercar-makers, such as the newly spun-off Pininfarina, and Serbian Rimac, as well as traditional automakers breaking into making such cars, have announced that they will go all electric, which may put pressure on competitors such as Koenigsegg to launch electric exotics as well.

READ THIS: Storied Pininfarina to launch new line of exotic electric cars

As Michael Perschke, CEO of Pininfarina told Green Car Reports last July, “It no longer works to launch an aspirational brand with a gas engine. You have to start in the 21st Century.”

Joining forces with NEVS and Evergrande could give Koenigsegg access to electric-car technology and supplies.

If that happens, it won't be immediate. Koenigsegg announced on Friday that it is developing a new “entry-level” car for $1.15 million that will have a cam-less gasoline engine.

NEVS 9-3 concept, 2017 CES Asia

It's also possible that Koenigsegg simply wants some space in Saab's old factory in Trollhättan, Sweden, which this deal specifically provides.

Saab's former Swedish rival Volvo is also owned by a Chinese automaker, Geely, which has announced that it plans to convert the brand to focus on electric and plug-in cars.