Qingdao Qingbo Investment, State Power Group, and NBE Sweden AB signed an agreement on Jan 7 to build Saab cars in Qingdao, Shandong province.

The three parties involved pledged to invest 10 billion yuan ($1.6 billion) to construct a vehicle factory for manufacturing automobiles powered by both conventional internal-combustion engines and alternative fuel engines. Zhang Xinqi, mayor of Qingdao, and Jiang Dalong, chairman of State Power Group, attended the signing ceremony.

The Saab Group has a history of over 70 years. Its original design and defense systems in the civil security sector are widely recognized. State Power Group and its holding companies possess nearly 350 patents and world-class core technologies, Qingdao Daily reported.

The Qingdao-based Saab factory will be the first assembly plant with passenger car production qualification in Shandong province. The project is expected to produce 400,000 vehicles annually when fully finished. With an initial investment of 4 billion yuan, the plant will be able to manufacture 200,000 cars annually after its first phase is completed. Moreover, the project will establish R&D, sales and procurement centers in Qingdao.

Edited by Michael Thai, Li Xiaoliang and Gao Yuan