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Saab Production Passes 50 Year Mark

20 December 1999

Saab Production Passes 50 Year Mark; Swedish Automaker Has Produced Nearly 3.3 Million Cars in Last 50 Years

    NORCROSS, Ga., Dec. 20 -- On December 12, 1949, the Swedish
aircraft manufacturer Saab began regular production of its first ground-based
vehicle - a green Saab 92.  The uniquely styled car with its aircraft
heritage, aerodynamic profile, front-wheel drive and two-stroke engine rolled
off the line a few weeks later, challenging the automotive mainstream.  Fifty
years, and nearly 3.3 million cars later, Saab's unique approach to designing
and engineering cars continues to challenge conventional wisdom.

    From prototype to regular production
    In 1944, Saab -- the acronym of Svenska Aeroplan Aktiebolaget or Swedish
Aircraft Company Limited -- decided to begin making cars as a supplement to
its aircraft production.  Gunnar Ljungstrom, who had been employed as wing
designer at Saab since 1937, was instructed to create a new car.  After
styling designer Sixten Sason joined the project, an aircraft-inspired and
very advanced car gradually emerged.
    The first prototype, designated the Saab 92.001, was ready in 1946.  One
year later, on June 10, 1947, a second car -- designated the Saab 92.002 --
was unveiled.  The two cars were used to move Saab's entire car department to
Trollhattan and by 1949, Saab was ready to produce 20 pilot vehicles of the
new Saab 92 model.  The 92 designation was a logical progression from the
earlier Scandia (90) and Safir (91) aircraft projects.

    Cars instead of aircraft
    The area of the Trollhattan workshop that was available for producing cars
was only 190,000 sq. ft. and accommodated the entire production process --
bodywork panel pressing and body assembly, engine and transmission production,
upholstery and painting departments, final assembly and final adjustments.
    As the first cars began rolling down the production line, the last Saab 21
propeller fighter aircraft rolled out of the factory.  Aircraft production was
being moved to Linkoping.  The first three regular production cars were ready
for delivery on January 16, 1950.

    All of them were green
    When the first Saab cars hit the showrooms, they produced enormous
interest.  An estimated 15,000 to 35,000 people lined up to see them.
However, production was only four cars a day, and only 1,246 cars were
produced in the first year -- all the same bottle-green color.
    The transversely mounted, two-cylinder, two-stroke engine had a
displacement of 764 cc and developed 25 horsepower.  The engine and
transmission were integrated into one unit and, like all subsequent Saab
models, the car was front-wheel drive.  The unit construction, all-welded
steel body was strong and torsionally stiff, and due to the streamlined body
design, the car had a drag coefficient of only 0.35.

    Production records in Trollhattan
    A production rate of more than 10,000 Saab cars a year was not reached
until 1958.  The rate then rose swiftly to around 90,000 cars by the
mid-1970s.  The highest annual total was recorded in 1986, when 134,112 cars
rolled off the production line.
    In addition to those produced in Trollhattan, Saab cars were also
assembled over the years in Linkoping, Arlov, Malmo, Mechelen (Belgium) and
Nystad/Uusikaupunki (Finland).  Production today is concentrated to
Trollhattan and Nystad, the latter plant producing the special Saab 9-3 Viggen
model and all 9-3 Convertibles.  The best production year for the Trollhattan
factory was 1998, when 107,135 cars were produced (out of a total production
of 124,867 cars in that year).