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An Ambitious Beginning
In November 2019, NEVS received an ambitious assignment from their parent company, Evergrande: to develop a revolutionary electric vehicle, now known as the Emily GT. The initial vision included the creation of 10 prototype vehicles; however, circumstances resulted in only 6 vehicles being fully completed.
The Impact of Covid-19
The unprecedented global event of Covid-19 dramatically reshaped these plans in early 2020. As lockdowns and travel restrictions swept the globe—particularly stringent in China—Evergrande executives found themselves unable to physically visit Trollhättan to personally experience the Emily GT. This limitation severely hindered the project’s momentum.
Forced into a suboptimal solution, NEVS had to resort to presenting the prototypes to Evergrande through digital presentations and video conferencing. This virtual experience could hardly capture the essence of a vehicle meticulously designed to be physically felt and driven, significantly diminishing the impact the prototypes could have made.
Project Halt and Lingering Questions
Eventually, Evergrande ceased financial support for the Emily GT project entirely, compelling NEVS to halt operations immediately. Six complete vehicles emerged from this period, with another four partially built. Notably, the seventh prototype was nearly finalized—only about 3% of its assembly, including seats and lighting, remained incomplete.
This begs the critical question: Would the Emily GT be commercially available today had Covid-19 never happened? It’s a question forever unanswered but deeply pondered by everyone involved.
The Future of Emily GT and PONS
Currently, both the Emily GT and NEVS’ autonomous taxi project, PONS, are on the market. When asked about the status of these critical sales, NEVS CEO Nina Selander provided cautious optimism, stating that active negotiations are underway with several potential buyers. However, she remained intentionally reserved with further details.
NEVS has until the end of 2025 to finalize a sale. Failure to do so would result in depleted financial resources, inevitably leading to layoffs across the company. Without a successful sale, the Emily GT faces a very real risk of permanent termination.
Challenges in Finding the Right Buyer
Selling a highly ambitious automotive project like the Emily GT is undeniably challenging, with considerable odds stacked against the company. Ideal buyers must possess both the financial means and strategic intent to mass-produce and market the vehicle. Equally important, these buyers must recognize the cultural and historical significance of initiating production at Stallbacka—the historic Saab production facility—thus preserving its automotive heritage.
A Ray of Hope at Stallbacka
Fortunately, there is a glimmer of hope. Slowly, activity is returning to Stallbacka as various enterprises establish their presence. Most notably, AC Cars has begun producing their legendary AC Cobra on-site, signaling that the location retains its desirability and potential. This positive development might just provide NEVS with the much-needed tailwind to navigate towards a brighter future.
Personal Reflections and Closing Thoughts
Personally, my hope remains strong for both NEVS and the Emily GT. Their success benefits the automotive community and industry alike. My fingers remain crossed.
This concludes the “Saga of Emily”—for now. I sincerely thank all readers who’ve followed this journey closely. Rest assured, I will continue to bring updates whenever there are significant developments regarding NEVS and the Emily GT.
The accompanying image, captured by Peter Dahl, perfectly symbolizes this narrative—a vehicle, a dedicated team, and a shared vision, demonstrating their incredible journey of turning the impossible into reality.
Thank you.
Hope so. The m ready to buy a companion for my Saab
I noticed the new Renault 5 has used the in wheel motor technology…
If they don’t make it EV…they probably will
TO Ruz Kon
well the whole point of it and it’s genius drive is EV
We hope…its a very nice var….very…
I hope so, in the market for it!!
Like a Lucid
thank you Alex for all the news you provide us about this passionate project and challenge. We all send the team all the positive energy to make a sale happen. Personally I love the design of the Emily, as a demonstration of know-how and solutions. The PONS from the strategic and environmental perspective looks for me more revolutionnary and useful, all our cities don’t need personal cars to move from A to B, this must and will be public transportation or private grouped transportation with flexible and personalized routing using the GPS/traffic optimization. The last, again from my point of view, is not yet exploited to move forward for more efficient travelling and trips. Reduce the number of cars on the road and in private property what is unefficient in many perspectives.
Good luck we will support you!!
Perfect car for Canada to replace US auto fiasco with tariffs! MARKET TO CANADA!😀
I hope they will succeed
As a dedicated SAAB customer, it would be difficult not to buy the Emily GT 👍
This is a true Saab!
Somebody please bring the SAAB brand back
Maybe make the car fit and style it like saabs of old and remove modern interior annoyances from it and then I’d hope Saab AB would give a thought to licensing the name to anyone other than GM.
This isn’t really Saab is it. And EVs are not the roaring success the globalists hoped for. If Saab were to ever come back, let’s have Saab with it’s traditional values and what made them so appealing. Anything else ain’t gonna work and ain’t worth talking about.
Sorry to all the SAABers who say “This is not really a SAAB anyway” or “Not really what SAAB was about anyway”
It’s EXACTLY what SAAB was about and also the direction SAAB wanted to travel
Design – Safety – functionality THAT’s SAAB
The electric drive system was like No Other … The Safety and Design exceptional
What needs to be understood … Even if this was never going to be released … At least the SAAB Legacy of “Out of the Box” Thinking was still there
My only hope is that somewhere in a locked room there are other concepts (Maybe Hydrogen) that will be the Future of this Iconic Brand
The Girls and Boys of the SAAB Type forward thinking division NEED Support and Backing and the chance to release a strong competitor back into the market
right. And electric cars embody high torque, low noise emissions, environmental responsibility, etc., exactly what Saab always aimed at. Maybe, these old Saab drivers now fell behind in their perception, after almost 15 years without gradual new Saabs to which they could get accustomed.
while you are right that Saab may have gone down the route of ev’s like all others did, they would have now realised that ev is Not the future of car design the industry thought it would be and switched course to hydrogen like bmw and vw have.
And yes, ev’s do have high torque and hp, But….. you are absolutely wrong that ev’s embody environmental responsibility, that lie has been proven wrong for all to see, which is why ev sales have crashed and burned, 1000’s upon 1000’s of unsold ev’s lie dormant in ports all over the world and car brands are ditching ev’s in favour of hydrogen.
And this is why this particular car is about to go under because no-one wants an ev anymore!
it is, since there is no acceptable alternative in order to mitigate the climate warming in the transport sector. EVs are up again this year. The problem is not fancied (by the fossil industry) environmental issues, but a lack of battery capacity, but this will be adressed sooner or later.
it’s not and you are living in fairy land if you think that ev’s and the manner in which some of the components to produce the batteries are either environmentally friendly or a sustainable future for the automotive industry.
And there absolutely is an alternative to electric power…..it’s called hydrogen!! Why do you think some of the biggest car brands are ditching ev’s in favour of hydrogen power, brands like bmw, vw, Toyota, Hyundai are investing in hydrogen. So you carry on dreaming of everyone driving around in big, ugly, bulky cars with sh1te resale value, the rest of the world will carry on using ice cars until hydrogen power becomes financially viable for ordinary people! 🤦♂️
There must be a few car nut, tech savvy, environmentally aware You tubers who could throw a several millions at this project?
Let the employees buy and build the car