The plan of NEVS

The Saab brand is dismantled, the factory stands still. Surprisingly, NEVS in Trollhättan still has more than 900 people working on it. How can this work? A legitimate question that quite a few readers, bloggers and Dagens Industri, are asking themselves. Here are the answers.

Published on Thursday DI an interesting article about NEVS. In Trollhättan daily 700 permanent employees and 230 consultants go to work at NEVS. Other 30 positions are tendered, primarily for jobs as a software or electronics engineer.

Last year NEVS had personnel costs of 260 million SEK. In the current year, with almost twice as many employees, it will be an estimated 500 million SEK (approx. 51 million €). At least! NEVS produces spare parts, rents development facilities, and develops vehicles for the Turkish market. Production at NEVS subsidiary New Long Ma will start in October. Partner Panda New Energy has already ordered 100.000 electric vans. That strengthens the cash flow and brings in money, as NEVS CEO Bergman notes. Of course, it is not enough to cover the running costs.

How is NEVS financed?

So far, says Bergman, NEVS has been funded by shareholders. The company is now moving towards a more intensive investment phase and will therefore borrow money in the Chinese financial market. The new factory in Tianjin will be completed in the coming year, and production of the NEVS 9-3 in China can then start.

NEVS is building a complete plant in Tianjin, not just an assembly factory as originally planned. "Was that under pressure from the Chinese authorities?" asked DI. "No, but talking to the authorities, we realized that this decision was necessary in order to obtain a production license." said Bergman. Bergman does not see that the factory in Trollhättan could become superfluous.

“We support the plant in China, the next generation of vehicles for the European market will be here (in Trollhattan) be built".

Think outside the conventions.

The DI article also features top executives from NEVS.

Christian Bromander has been in the auto industry for 25 years. First at BMW, then at Saab. Now he is responsible for electrical and mechanical architecture at NEVS. He says it's fun to think NEVS outside the usual conventions (Det är roligt att Nevs tänker utanför the berömda boxen.)

“The NEVS 9-3, according to Bromander, has a range of at least 300 kilometers, a revised design and modern infotainment. He may not pull her off the chair, but that will definitely happen if we with our (complete) new products and services are coming. ”

Michèl Annink is responsible for future mobility solutions at NEVS. Previously, he was under contract with Microsoft, Salesforce and Toshiba. He does not see NEVS as a conventional manufacturer. “It won't just be about making cars. There will also be a lot of virtual services ”.

NEVS will have a new generation of vehicles with the latest technology in the year 2020. Until then, manufacturers such as Mercedes or Volvo will have presented electric cars. How does NEVS want to compete with established manufacturers?

"We have a great respect for the technical and financial resources of other providers," says CEO Bergman. “But they cannot fully concentrate on the electric car because they still have petrol or diesel vehicles. We, however, are not stuck in the old, but have the knowledge of the old (Technology-)World"