Saab 9-3 gets Another Chance in Life in China as an All-Electric Model from BAIC

We have been critical of the clones produced by Beijing Automotive Industry Holding Co. (BAIC for short) such as its Mercedes B-Class doppelganger called the BC301Z, but the Saab 9-3 sedan pictured above is actually legit.

You see, GM sold the intellectual rights for Saab's older generation 9-5 and 9-3s along with select powertrain technology and tooling equipment to China's BAIC for US$200 million back in 2009, when it still owned the Swedish carmaker.

BAIC's subsidiary Beijing Auto Works (BAW) had previewed its own versions of the Saab 9-3 and 9-5 sedans with two separate concepts called the C60 and C71 respectively, during the 2010 Beijing Auto Show.

For its next move, BAIC is finishing work on a pure-electric model based on the Saab 9-3. Codenamed the Q60FB-C1, it will likely make its first public outing at the upcoming 2012 Beijing Auto Show in April.

Read more »