All-electric Saab 9-3 test fleet reportedly to launch in early 2011

During a media launch for the 2011 Saab 9-5, company executives revealed plans to introduce a test fleet of electric vehicles based on the upcoming 9-3. As Inside Line reports, Saab execs confirmed that the test fleet of EVs will roll out in early 2011 and will be deployed at various locations across the globe, including Saab's hometown of Trollhattan, Sweden.

Saab's "100 percent electric vehicle" test fleet is a joint effort between the automaker, lithium ion battery producer Boston-Power, electric propulsion systems manufacturer Electroengine and the Swedish Energy Authority. Saab Automobile AB managing director Jan Ake Jonsson said:

The main purpose is to draw technology from this test fleet, technology that we can then incorporate quickly. The key target short-term is to drive fuel consumption down. You can electrify certain portions of the vehicle.

When prodded about a target release date for a mass-production EV, Jonsson ducked out by stating:

Everybody is looking at that question. Nobody has an answer. It will take some time.

Without official word from Jonsson, we'll have to fall back on the previous comments of Saab's chief executive officer Victor Muller, who suggested that 2016 is the year the company will go for electrification.