Saab Automobile

This article is about the car manufacturer. For the aerospace and defence company, see Saab AB. For other uses, see Saab.

Saab Automobile AB
Company typeDivision
IndustryAutomotive
Founded1945 (1945)
FounderSaab AB
Defunct2016
FateBankrupt
SuccessorNEVS
Headquarters
Trollhättan
,
Sweden
Area served
Worldwide
ProductsAutomobiles
ParentSaab AB (1945–1968)
Saab-Scania (1968–1990)
General Motors (1990–2010)
Spyker N.V. (2010–2012)
NEVS (2012–2014)
DivisionsSaab Aero
Websitesaabparts.com

Saab Automobile AB[1][2] (/sɑːb/) was a car manufacturer that was founded in Sweden in 1945 when its parent company, Saab AB, began a project to design a small automobile. The first production model, the Saab 92, was launched in 1949. In 1968 the parent company merged with Scania-Vabis, and ten years later the Saab 900 was launched, in time becoming Saab's best-selling model. In the mid-1980s the new Saab 9000 model also appeared.

In 1989, the automobile division of Saab-Scania was restructured into an independent company, Saab Automobile AB. The American manufacturer General Motors (GM) took 50 percent ownership. Two well-known models to come out of this period were the Saab 9-3 and the Saab 9-5. Then in 2000, GM exercised its option to acquire the remaining 50 percent. In 2010 GM sold Saab Automobile AB to the Dutch automobile manufacturer Spyker Cars N.V.[3][4]

Saab 900

After many years establishing a sound engineering reputation and ultimately a luxury price tag, Saab failed to build its customer base beyond its niche following.[5] After struggling to avoid insolvency throughout 2011, the company petitioned for bankruptcy following the failure of a Chinese consortium to complete a purchase of the company; the purchase had been blocked by the former owner GM, which opposed the transfer of technology and production rights to a Chinese company.[6] On 13 June 2012, it was announced that a newly formed company called National Electric Vehicle Sweden (NEVS) had bought Saab Automobile's bankrupt estate.[7] According to "Saab United", the first NEVS Saab 9-3 drove off its pre-production line on 19 September 2013.[8] Full production restarted on 2 December 2013,[9] initially the same petrol-powered 9-3 Aero sedans that were built before Saab went bankrupt, and intended to get the car manufacturer's supply chain re-established as it attempted development of a new line of NEVS-Saab products.[10][11] NEVS lost its license to manufacture automobiles under the Saab name (which the namesake aerospace company still owns) in the summer of 2014 and later produced electric cars based on the Saab 9-3 but under its own new car designation "NEVS".[12][13]

  1. ^ "History and Background: Timeline, Video". US: Saab Group. 1 January 1980. Archived from the original on 23 February 2009. Retrieved 11 February 2009.
  2. ^ "The History of Svenska Aeroplan Aktiebolaget or Saab". Saab history. Archived from the original on 15 September 2012. Retrieved 30 January 2010.
  3. ^ Durrenberger, E. Paul (15 August 2017). Uncertain Times: Anthropological Approaches to Labor in a Neoliberal World. University Press of Colorado. ISBN 978-1-60732-631-1. Archived from the original on 3 September 2023. Retrieved 28 October 2020.
  4. ^ "Spyker Cars finalises the purchase of Saab" (PDF) (Press release). Spyker. 23 February 2010. Archived (PDF) from the original on 7 August 2011. Retrieved 17 December 2013.
  5. ^ "The People Who Will Miss Saab the Most; With the bankruptcy and impending doom facing Saab, we mourn with the certain, loyal fans that will miss the Swedish auto-maker". US: The Atlantic. 19 December 2011. Archived from the original on 7 November 2019. Retrieved 7 November 2019.
  6. ^ "Saab Automobile Files for Bankruptcy" (Press release). Saab Automobile. 19 December 2011. Archived from the original on 7 January 2012. Retrieved 20 December 2011..
  7. ^ Zachariasson, Helena (13 June 2012). "Saab har fatt en kopare" [Saab's new owners will hire hundreds]. SVT (in Swedish). SE. Archived from the original on 23 October 2012. Retrieved 20 October 2012.
  8. ^ "First Nevs Saab Rolls off Pre-Production Line" (Youtube) (video Posted). Trollhättan: Saab Group. 19 September 2013. Archived from the original on 3 December 2013. Retrieved 6 October 2013.
  9. ^ Lönnroth, Valdemar (28 November 2014), "Lööf på plats nar Nevs drar igang produktion" [Lööf in place when Nevs kicks off production], Ttela (in Swedish), SE, archived from the original on 28 November 2013.
  10. ^ Gastelu, Gary (2 December 2013). "Saab restarts production". Fox News. Archived from the original on 18 February 2015. Retrieved 21 February 2015.
  11. ^ Stoll, John D. (2 December 2013). "Saab Automobile Is Poised to Resume Production". Gasgoo Automotive News. Archived from the original on 21 February 2015. Retrieved 21 February 2015.
  12. ^ Saab carmaker NEVS granted creditor protection by court but loses right to use Saab name; Automotive News Europe, 29 August 2014, at europe.autonews.com Archived 15 September 2019 at the Wayback Machine Accessed 8 November 2017
  13. ^ "nevs.com: NEVS launches its new trademark". Archived from the original on 14 September 2016.