Saab Automobile has transferred its transmissions development work to a new company wholly owned by a consortium led by the Swedish state-backed venture capital investor Fouriertransform. The new company, called VICURA and to be formally established on 1 January, will be staffed by more than 50 former Saab Automobile Powertrain engineers and will develop transmission systems for the international automotive industry, including Saab Automobile.

The company will be headquartered in Trollhättan.

Saab said that the agreement with Fouriertransform is the next step in its restructuring towards becoming a successful, stand-alone company and will make its organization operate more efficiently.

The trend of outsourcing of transmission development is definitively increasing. For Sweden and the Swedish automotive industry as a whole, it is vital to maintain and further develop high competence within this field and that is exactly what these skilled former Saab engineers will offer as consultants in this competitive vehicle market.

—Per Nordberg, CEO at Fouriertransform

Fouriertransform is a state-owned venture capital company with a task to, on a commercial basis, strengthen the international competitiveness of the Swedish automotive cluster. The company has a total investment framework of SEK 3 billion (US$440 million) and, in addition to providing capital, its employees and network of experts contribute their own expertise. To date, Fouriertransform has invested SEK 300 million (US$44 million) in eight companies.