Saab Automobile AB, a Swedish premium car manufacturer, formed in 1945 when a Swedish aerospace defense company began to design a small automobile. The first production model, the Saab 92 launched in 1949, sold 20,000 cars through the mid-1950s. Redesigned, re-engineered, and renamed the Saab 93 in 1955, the car gained an engine cylinder, going from two to three, and became the first with Saab’s trademark trapezoidal radiator grill. A station wagon, the 95, joined the 93 in 1959.

In 1960 came the 96, the first Saab to be exported out of Sweden. Very popular, it sold nearly 550,000 units. Even more important to company fortunes was the 1968 Saab 99, the first all-new Saab in 19 years with, unlike its predecessors, no ties to the 92. The 99 had innovations and idiosyncrasies that defined Saabs for decades: wraparound windshields, self-repairing bumpers, headlight washers, and side-impact door beams. Saab engineers favored two-stroke engines but decided that a four-stroke was necessary for the 99 to sell well. They tried two Triumph four-cylinder engines of 1,750 and 1,850 cubic centimeters, then decided to build their own of 2,000, which produced 145 horsepower in a turbocharged version.

The 99 remained in production until 1984 with 588,643 sold.

In 1978, Saab agreed with Fiat to sell a rebadged Lancia Delta as the Saab 600 and to develop jointly a new platform. As results the 1984 Saab 9000, the Alfa Romeo 164, Fiat Croma, and Lancia Thema all had a common chassis. The Saab 9000, its first luxury car, stayed in production until 1998 with sales of 503,085.

The Saab 900, a front-engined, front-wheel-drive compact with a 45-degree slanted four-cylinder engine, double-wishbone front, and beam-axle rear suspension, replaced the 99 in 1978 and after a 20–year production run sold nearly a million as Saab’s best-selling and most-recognized model ever. A popular 1986 convertible version accounted for nearly 20 percent of 900 sales after its debut. Like the 99, the 900 has unusual design features that distinguish it from most other cars and retain for it a following of enthusiasts.

In 1989, General Motors and Swedish investment company Investor AB, each of which then controlled 50 percent, restructured the company as Saab Automobile AB. General Motors’ involvement launched in 1994 a 900 New Generation (NG) model that shared a platform with the Opel Vectra. Due in part to NG success in the market, Saab in 1995 made a profit for the first time in several years; however, the NG never achieved either the following or the same reputation for quality as did the original 900. In 2000 General Motors exercised an option to acquire the remaining 50 percent to turn Saab Automobile into a wholly-owned subsidiary.

The first product of the new close relationship was the all-new 2003 Saab 9-3. The new model discarded Saab’s hatchback for a more conventional four-door design. This model again shared a co-developed platform with the Opel Vectra. The badge-engineered Saab 9-2X based on the Subaru Impreza and Saab 9-7X based on the Chevrolet Trailblazer entered the American market in 2005 to increase sales, but both models were critical and commercial failures cancelled a few years after their productions began. General Motors also delayed development of the 9-3 wagon, cancelled a hatchback version of the 9-3 four-door, stalled plans for Saab all-wheel-drive models, and announced a shift of production from Saab’s historic base in Trollhättan to Opel’s Rüsselsheim factory.

With fortunes fading everywhere, General Motors said in December 2008 that it might sell or shutter the Saab brand and in 2010 sold it to the Dutch automobile manufacturer Spyker Cars NV. After struggling financially through 2011, the company petitioned for bankruptcy after a Chinese consortium failed to complete a purchase blocked by the former owner in opposition to a transfer of technology and production rights under the proposed purchase. In June 2012, a newly-formed company, National Electric Vehicle Sweden, announced that it had bought all Saab Automobile rights and assets.