The few days since NEVS finally closed the deal have caused quite a bit of turmoil within the community. Discussions were very emotional and as I feel it there is a lot of scepticism towards Saab 2.0, its owner and the plans for the future. But do we really have the knowledge to judge them? I don’t think so, not yet.
A regular demand towards NEVS is that they shall be more open on their plans, if not to make their business plan public. But can one really expect that? No. It would be foolish to give the public and by that the competition too much insight. Additionally you have the yellow(car)press, especially in Sweden, that would only wait for them to be a day late with something and jump at that, stating that they failed. Having been in a few businesses myself I know that a businessplan is a vivid thing – despite there are goals set the route to reach them may change. Be it due to changes in technology, legislation or partnerships.
When Spyker took over Saab Victor tried to walk a path of giving the fans more insight and in a way let them feel even more connected to Saab. While this at first did work out well it very much turned against them when things got tough. Hight expectations turned into deep disappointment. Too many promises were made and too many dates were set, most of them were never met. This caused even more turbulences and made SWAN and Saab even more vulnerable. It was surely just one mistake among many but in times it surely made things worse.
The stance that NEVS are taking right now is that they rather let their actions speak than make huge promises up front.
To me this is a good strategy as critics would tear down any of NEVS’ announcements anyway, but it also means we have to wait for things to develop. Getting a product ready for sale will take some considerable time. I am sure we will get to know more about the tech and the plans in the meantime so we can start discussing on facts rather than on guesses.
As you could already see back in April I am not a blind supporter of electricity as the one and only solution for future mobility but when it comes to NEVS I’d rather see people take an open minded attitude than the current “thy end is near”-view.
From the contacts I personally had with people from NEVS I can say that they are definetely aware of the heritage they took over by acquiring Saab. It’s been a tale of innovation, of taking a different road and sometimes a tale of looking beyond today’s boundaries. And this last point is an important one – we may not forget that NEVS are creating a product for a market that shall be there in two or three years. You can hardly judge this by today’s standards. And one thing is for sure: wherever electricity is available, big machines are driven by it. Just a thought.
I surely can’t turn you into stong believers in electric cars and that is not my mission here. I’d just like to see the discussion about NEVS take place in a more open minded, a more saaby way. The mere fact that NEVS have come that far tells us that there is more in this than hot air. They paid in cash (and this is not Chinese Government money as it had most likely been with Youndman) and they secured the right s to the Saab name, to mark only two recent positive aspects. So, for now, let’s follow the dvelopements to get our own picture of what NEVS will deliver. I am open to see what they are after.
And for those who wonder if I keep hearing those things about India – yes I do. And I still have faith that the big picture will fit us well.