Despite being passed around to a few different owners over its lifespan, 64-year-old Saab has been around long enough to build up a strong brand. It went bankrupt back in 2010, but now is expected to be turning out a new breed of cars in the next few years thanks to the new ownership of Electric Vehicle Sweden (NEVS), a partnership between China's National Modern Energy Holdings and Japan's Sun Investment.
NEVS will be turning Saab into an electric car, which likely won’t be on the market for a few years. But when it does, something will be gone from Saab that's survived all the other changes: the griffinon its logo.
The mythical creature that has the body and tail of a lion and the head and wings of an eagle will still be found on Saab trucks and planes, which are not owned by NEVS and will remain with their current manufacturers. For now, a griffin-less logo will represent the company.
NEVS has assigned Stockholm Design Labs to develop the new visual identity for the new car. A utilitarian grey logotype looks to be featured on the new cars themselves. The newest logo iteration, likely for other uses, has each letter of the word “Saab” showcasing different elements of the four seasons, emphasizing its all-weather abilities.
Saab fans — a diehard bunch if there ever was one — continue to express opinions on the switches. One called the grey logo "perfect." Another said: "Why the circle? Why grey? It still doesn't make sense to me. However, I will have to get used to it, no?"
A year ago, Saab was spiraling toward its demise until being bought in summer by the NEVS investment group, bent on the electric-car approach. Manufacturing of the new cars is expected to take place in China after a recent deal with Qingdao Qingbo Investment Co. for a 22 percent stake in the company.
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