Wang Dazong, president of China’s Beijing Automotive Industry Holding Co., announced today on the sidelines of the Beijing Auto Show that BAIC is currently building a new plant in China that will produce vehicles based on the technology purchased from General Motors’ former Saab division.
BAIC – China’s fifth largest automaker – purchased the rights to Saab’s older 9-5 and 9-3 designs from General Motors last year. BAIC purchased Saab’s designs for about $200 million. Production of the current Saab 9-5 ended in Sweden earlier this year.
The new plant will have the capacity to produce 300,000 vehicles per year. Dazong didn’t specify if the new plant would also produce some of BAIC’s current models.
BAIC has yet to officially reveal its first Saab-based model, but a leaked image of the restyled Saab 9-5 surfaced on the Web earlier this week. It is expected that BAIC will begin production of its Saab-based vehicles by the end of 2011.
References
1. ‘New China BAIC…’ view
