Saab and Youngman to form joint venture to develop three new models: the 9-1, 9-6 and 9-7

Saab, through its owner Swedish Automobile, has signed an agreement with Zhejiang Youngman to form a joint venture in Sweden to develop three Saab models. The company issued a statement which said that the 50:50 JV, called the New Product Joint Venture, will be responsible for coming out with three vehicles, these being the 9-1, 9-6 and 9-7.

Saab will be responsible for controlling and managing the design, the development and testing of the new vehicles, utilising its existing capabilities and know-how from Trollhättan, with Youngman pitching in with financial support.

The 9-1 is likely to be based on the 9-X BioHybrid, while the 9-6 will see the resurrection of a SUV project from six years ago that never saw the light – a Subaru B9-based prototype was built, and has now sits on display at the Saab Museum.

The venture is aiming to build the prestige of the Saab brand to an even larger group of customers in China and the US with the 9-6 and 9-7, while the entry level 9-1 is being targeted as a global offering. The agreement between Swedish Automobile and Youngman has yet to be approved by regulators in Sweden and China, reports say.

© 2011 Paul Tan's Automotive News. All Rights Reserved.

This story originally appeared on Paul Tan's Automotive News on Wed, 20 Jul 11 06:50:38 +0000.

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