National Electric Vehicle Sweden (NEVS), a consortium of Swedish, Japanese and Chinese investors, acquired the most of bankrupt carmaker Saab's assets in 2012, restarting production of the petrol 9-3 last September for Sweden and China.

Volume production of the electric 9-3 will begin later this year on a new assembly line in Trollhattan. Certification is underway, a spokesperson said, ahead of a 2015 launch with several European markets being considered.

For now, though, numbers will be small. The first batch of 200 9-3 electric vehicles will be shipped to the city of Qingdao in China, for use on its municipal fleet. 

It isn't the first time the 9-3 has featured an electric drivetrain. Saab had shown a prototype 9-3 ePower in 2010, based on the SportWagon and powered by a 184bhp electric motor, but with a range of 124 miles.