NEVS Sango History

Unveiled in July 2020 as part of NEVS's 'PONS' (Personal On-Demand Networked Solution) mobility-as-a-service strategy, the Sango was a purpose-built autonomous shuttle designed for shared urban transport. Unlike the 9-3 EV's repurposed Saab platform, the Sango was an entirely new design — a low, wide electric pod with a flexible interior configurable for up to six passengers in private, social, or family seating arrangements.

The Sango prototype was fitted with roof-mounted and side-mounted LiDAR sensors plus five cameras for full 360-degree coverage, and NEVS partnered with Silicon Valley-based AutoX to supply the Level 4 autonomous-driving stack. Initial functional testing took place at the Trollhättan site. The program was intended to revive Saab's historic factory with high-tech autonomous vehicle production, but Evergrande's financial collapse starved NEVS of the capital needed to commercialize it.

No series-production contract was announced, and the Sango remained a prototype when NEVS entered hibernation in 2023. The rights and assets associated with NEVS's vehicle programs attracted interest from Canadian startup EV Electra and briefly from Polestar, but no production deal had been confirmed as of the end of 2024.