manufacturer . for the aerospace and defence company see saab ab . for other uses see saab . saab automobile ab former type division industry automotive successor nevs founded 1945 1945 founder saab ab defunct 2012 headquarters trollh ttan sweden area served worldwide products automobiles parent saab ab 1945 68 saab scania 1968 1990 general motors 1990 2010 spyker n.v. 2010 12 website saabcars.com saab automobile ab 1 2 s b was an manufacturer of automobiles that was founded in sweden in 1945 when its parent company saab ab soon to be saab ab listen help info 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 % ownership with an investment of us 600 million and then in 2000 exercised its option to acquire the remaining 50 % for a further us 125 million ; so turning saab automobile into a wholly owned gm subsidiary . in 2010 gm sold saab automobile ab to the dutch automobile manufacturer spyker cars n.v. 3 saab 900 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 . 4 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 . 5 according to saab united the first nevs saab 9 3 drove off its pre production line on 19 september 2013 . 6 full production restarted on 2 december 2013 7 initially the same gasoline powered 9 3 aero sedans that were built before saab went bankrupt and intended to get the automaker s supply chain reestablished as it attempted development of a new line of nevs saab products . 8 9 nevs lost its license to manufacture automobiles under the saab name in the summer of 2014 and now plans to produce electric cars based on the 9 3 under its own brand name . 10 11 contents 1 history 1.1 svenska aeroplan ab 1948 1969 1.2 saab scania 1969 1989 1.3 general motors and investor ab 1989 2000 1.4 general motors 2000 2010 1.5 spyker swedish automobile 2010 2011 1.5.1 2010 purchase of saab 1.5.2 2011 bankruptcy 1.5.3 2012 us 3 billion damages claim 1.5.4 2013 claim dismissed 1.6 national electric vehicle sweden 2012 2014 2 production 3 models 3.1 prospective models 3.2 canceled models 3.3 historical models 3.4 concepts and prototypes 4 innovations 5 safety 6 endurance records 7 marketing and ownership 7.1 ownership and brand loyalty 7.2 slogans 8 literature and the arts 9 in motorsport 10 see also 11 references 12 external links history ursaab the prototype for the saab 92 saab s first automobile svenska aeroplan ab 1948 1969 saab ab svenska aeroplan aktiebolaget swedish for swedish aeroplane corporation a swedish aerospace and defence company was created in 1937 in link ping . the company had been established in 1937 for the express purpose of building aircraft for the swedish air force to protect the country s neutrality as europe moved closer to world war ii . as the war drew towards a close and the market for fighter planes seemed to weaken the company began looking for new markets in which to diversify . an automobile design project was started in 1945 with the internal name x9248 . 12 13 the design project became formally known as project 92 ; the 92 being next in production sequence after the saab 91 a single engine trainer aircraft . 14 in 1948 a company site in trollh ttan was converted to allow automobile assembly and the project moved there along with the car manufacturing headquarters which has remained there since . the company made four prototypes named ursaab or original saab numbered 92001 through to 92004 before designing the production model the saab 92 in 1949 . saab 96 the saab 92 went into production in december 1949 15 selling 20 000 cars through the mid 1950s . the 92 was thoroughly redesigned and re engineered in 1955 and was renamed the saab 93 . the car s engine gained a cylinder going from two to three and its front fascia became the first to sport the first incarnation of saab s trademark trapezoidal radiator grill . a wagon variant the saab 95 was added in 1959 . the decade also saw saab s first performance car the saab 94 the first of the saab sonetts . 1960 saw the third major revision to the 92 s platform in the saab 96 . the 96 was an important model for saab it was the first saab to be widely exported out of sweden . it proved very popular selling nearly 550 000 examples . even more important to the company s fortunes was 1968 s saab 99 . the 99 was the first all new saab in 19 years and unlike its predecessors severed all ties with the 92 . the 99 had many innovations and features that would come to define saabs for decades wraparound windscreen self repairing bumpers headlamp washers and side impact door beams . the design by sixten sason was no less revolutionary than the underlying technology and elements like the saab hockey stick profile graphic continue to influence saab design . saab scania 1969 1989 main article saab scania the saab 99 was launched in 1969 as an all new design . in 1969 saab ab merged with the swedish commercial vehicle manufacturer scania vabis ab to form saab scania ab under the wallenberg family umbrella . the 99 range was expanded in 1973 with the addition of a combi coupe model a body style which became synonymous with saab . the millionth saab was produced in 1976 . saab entered into an agreement with fiat in 1978 to sell a rebadged lancia delta as the saab 600 and jointly develop a new platform . the agreement yielded 1985 s saab 9000 sister to the alfa romeo 164 fiat croma and lancia thema ; all rode atop a common type four chassis . the 9000 was saab s first proper luxury car but failed to achieve the planned sales volume . 1978 also was the first year for the 99 s replacement the saab 900 . nearly one million 900s would be produced making it saab s best selling and most iconic model . 16 a popular convertible version followed in 1986 all of which were made at the saab valmet factory in finland making up nearly 20 % of 900 sales . even today the classic 900 retains a cult following . general motors and investor ab 1989 2000 saab 9 5 in 1989 the saab car division of saab scania was restructured into an independent company saab automobile ab headquartered in sweden ; general motors and investor ab controlled 50 % each . gm s investment of us 600 million gave it the option to acquire the remaining shares within a decade . general motors involvement spurred the launch of a new 900 in 1994 . the new car shared a platform with the opel vectra . due in large part to its success saab earned a profit in 1995 for the first time in seven years . however the model never achieved the cult following of the classic 900 and did not achieve the same reputation for quality . 1997 marked saab s 50th anniversary as an automaker . the company used its jubilee owners convention to launch a replacement for the aging 9000 the saab 9 5 . the 900 received a facelift and renaming complementary to its new larger sibling it would now be called the saab 9 3 . the 9 5 was the first saab without a combi coup body style option in 20 years . filling that space was a wagon variant introduced in 1999 . general motors 2000 2010 gm exercised its option to acquire the remaining saab shares in 2000 spending us 125 million to turn the company into a wholly owned subsidiary . the new close relationship yielded its first product in 2003 s all new 9 3 . the new model marketed as a sport sedan dropped saab s iconic hatchback in favour of a more conventional four door approach . the model shared a co developed platform gm s global epsilon 1 platform and some other components with the opel vectra again but the relationship was much more of a joint engineering effort than before . under gm s direction the badge engineered saab 9 2x based on the subaru impreza and saab 9 7x based on the chevrolet trailblazer were introduced in the american market in 2005 with the hope of increasing sales . both models were a critical and commercial failure and were cancelled a few years after production began . gm also delayed the 9 3 wagon by three years shelved a hatchback derivative of the 9 3 sedan stalled plans for all wheel drive capabilities in saab models until 2008 cancelled a 9 5 replacement in 2005 and announced a planned shift of production away from saab s historic home in trollh ttan to opel s factory in r sselsheim . saab 9 3 sport combi owing to fading fortunes across its entire business gm announced that the saab brand was under review in december 2008 a process which included the possibility of selling or shuttering the car maker . reportedly 27 potential buyers emerged including bmw fiat geely hyundai magna renault and tata motors ; serious talks progressed with three bidders the swedish supercar maker koenigsegg merbanco and renco group . citation needed as the talks progressed gm s support receded and saab went into administration the swedish equivalent of america s chapter 11 bankruptcy . saab s managing director jan ke jonsson said that this was the best way to create a truly independent entity that is ready for investment . 17 for its part the swedish government was reluctant to become involved with maud olofsson industry minister stating the swedish state and taxpayers in sweden will not own car factories . sometimes you get the impression that this is a small small company but it is the world s biggest automaker so we have a right to make demands . 18 saab aero x on 16 june 2009 koenigsegg announced its intention to purchase the brand from gm . 19 the bid was backed by a group of norwegian investors and the chinese car maker beijing automotive industry holding co ltd baic . the following month both parties announced that gm had consented to the deal . there were outstanding financial details but a loan from the european investment bank was expected to cover them . the loan was approved in october but on november 24 2009 koenigsegg announced that it had come to the painful and difficult conclusion that it could no longer carry out the acquisition . 20 much because of the constant delays and the difficulties coordinating the involved parties ; gm the european investment bank the swedish national debt office and baic . it was announced on 14 december 2009 that the chinese automaker would acquire the intellectual property rights and production equipment for the previous generation saab 9 3 and saab 9 5 in a deal worth about us 197 million which was enough for the