Sweden’s NEVS is looking for a new owner in light of the parent company Evergrande’s financial problems
NEVS, a start-up of electric cars that is best known for its attempt to restart the production of Saab cars at the beginning of the last decade, is looking for a buyer.
NEVS is owned by the Evergrande Group, the Chinese conglomerate whose main real estate development arm has debts of over $ 300 billion and which can be just a few days from failing on part of the pile.
In an interview with Bloomberg which was published earlier in October, Stefan Tilk, CEO of NEVS, said that he is preparing if things do not work with Evergrande and as a result is looking for a new owner for NEVS.
“I’m acting like it’s not going to work with Evergrande,” he said. “Therefore, we have started discussions with new intended owners or project financiers.”
Stefan Tilk
Tilk also said that NEVS has enough funds to last for a while, even though the company has been forced to make some cuts. In August, it released about half of its 650 employees, most from the former Saab factory in Trollhättan, Sweden. In addition to the facility, NEVS’s assets include engineering and testing centers.
Potential buyers are rumored to include venture capital funds based in the United States and Europe. It was also reported in August that the Chinese smartphone giant Xiaomi, which this year launched its own car arm, had talks with the Evergrande Group about buying some of its vehicle assets.
It was first reported in September that the Evergrande Group, despite its financial difficulties, is engaged in its car arm which, in addition to owning NEVS, owns 20% of Koenigsegg and is trying to launch the new Chinese EV brand Hengchi.
Although NEVS has previously announced plans to launch its own electric vehicles, the company is currently focused on developing mobile services, including a self-driving taxi service.