Is Saab Still Making Cars? No, and Here’s Why (2026)

No. Saab Automobile stopped building cars when it went bankrupt in December 2011, and the small revival run by NEVS stalled in 2014 when Saab AB pulled the name. NEVS itself wound down after that, and its last remaining prototypes were auctioned in May 2026. Saab the aerospace company is alive and well, but it makes fighter jets, not cars.

Is Saab Still Making Cars Today?

The short version, with dates from Wikipedia’s Saab Automobile, NEVS and Saab AB articles read for this update (as of June 2026): Saab’s car business collapsed in 2011, NEVS bought the pieces in 2012, and there has been no production under the Saab name since 2014. The timeline below also fixes a common mix-up, because Saab cars were briefly built after the bankruptcy.

Date	What happened
1937	Svenska Aeroplan AB (Saab) is founded in Trollhättan as an aircraft maker
Dec 1949	Full production of the first Saab car, the 92, begins
1989-1990	Car division becomes Saab Automobile AB; General Motors takes a 50% stake, with Investor AB holding the other half
2000	GM buys the rest and owns Saab Automobile outright
Feb 2010	Spyker Cars completes its purchase of Saab Automobile from GM
Spring 2011	Production halts at Trollhättan as money for suppliers runs out
19 Dec 2011	Saab Automobile files for bankruptcy
13 Jun 2012	NEVS announces it has acquired the bankruptcy assets
Dec 2013	NEVS restarts limited 9-3 Aero production; Wikipedia’s annual tables list 71 cars for 2013 and 380 for 2014
May-Aug 2014	9-3 production is suspended over cash flow; NEVS enters bankruptcy protection and Saab AB revokes its right to use the Saab name
Jun 2016	NEVS unveils its own brand identity and drops references to Saab
Jan 2019	Evergrande acquires 51% of NEVS
Mar-May 2023	NEVS lays off most employees, then sells 80% of the Trollhättan factory to Stenhaga Invest
Dec 2024	The last 20 NEVS employees are made redundant
30 May 2026	The final seven NEVS-owned 9-3 prototypes and pre-series cars finish selling at auction for 1,031,000 SEK in total
Jun 2026	Wikipedia lists NEVS as defunct and in liquidation

A myth worth correcting: the cars did not stop all at once

Most pages say Saab production simply ended in 2011. It is more accurate to say it ended in stages. Trollhättan production stalled in spring 2011, the bankruptcy followed in December, and then NEVS restarted a small line in December 2013. Wikipedia’s annual production tables list 71 cars for 2013 and 380 for 2014, so roughly 450 more 9-3 sedans exist than the 2011 date suggests. Those cars are the reason you will sometimes see a “2014 Saab” listed for sale.

What Happened After the 2011 Bankruptcy

Saab Automobile filed for bankruptcy on 19 December 2011. On 13 June 2012, NEVS (National Electric Vehicle Sweden) announced it had acquired the bankruptcy assets. NEVS was set up by Hong Kong-based National Modern Energy Holdings and a Japanese investor to buy them, and the stated plan was to turn the Saab 9-3 into an electric car.

Why NEVS built petrol Saabs first

NEVS began with a conventional petrol 9-3 Aero in December 2013, with about a fifth of the original GM-sourced parts replaced, to get cash flowing. It did not work. Production was suspended in May 2014 because of cash-flow problems, and in August 2014 NEVS was granted bankruptcy protection. Saab AB also revoked its right to use the Saab name that summer, and later cars carried the NEVS name instead. NEVS left bankruptcy protection in April 2015 after its debts were forgiven.

From Evergrande to liquidation

NEVS signed a deal in December 2015 to supply 150,000 electric 9-3 based cars to a Chinese customer through 2020, and in June 2016 it dropped Saab references altogether. Evergrande acquired 51% of NEVS in January 2019. In March 2023 NEVS laid off most of its staff, and in May 2023 it sold 80% of the Trollhättan factory to Stenhaga Invest, which later became sole owner. A planned December 2023 sale of the Emily GT and PONS projects to EV Electra was later cancelled, and the last 20 employees were made redundant in December 2024.

The last visible chapter was the auction. Klaravik sold seven remaining vehicles from the NEVS site, with bidding opening on 21 May 2026 and the final viewing event on 30 May 2026. The seven lots made 1,031,000 SEK in total, roughly 90,000 euros according to press reports, and the top lot was a China-built NEVS electric 9-3 at 252,000 SEK. Three of the cars were 2014 pre-series 9-3s.

Who Owns the Saab Name Today?

Saab AB. The Swedish aerospace and defence group was founded in 1937 as Svenska Aeroplan Aktiebolaget and still owns the Saab trademark. Its main product is the JAS 39 Gripen fighter, and per Wikipedia it reported revenue of 79.146 billion SEK and 26,100 employees for 2025. It started building cars in 1947, merged with Scania-Vabis in 1968, and split into Saab AB and Scania AB in 1995, after the car division had already moved into a joint venture with GM.

This is the detail that decides whether the badge can ever return. Because Saab AB owns the name and took away NEVS’s licence in 2014, nobody can launch a new Saab car without Saab AB’s agreement. The two firms are separate companies today, and the car business that went bankrupt in 2011 was Saab Automobile AB, not the aircraft maker.

Will Saab Ever Make Cars Again?

Nothing in the sources read for this update points to a restart. NEVS is listed as defunct and in liquidation as of June 2026, the factory has been sold off, and the last prototypes went to private buyers. A revival would need the trademark from Saab AB, a factory, a modern car design that meets current safety rules, a dealer network and large amounts of funding, and the cancelled Emily GT deal shows how fragile such plans have been. Treat any “Saab is coming back” headline as a rumour until Saab AB itself confirms it.

Owning a Saab Now: Parts, Service and Recalls

Hundreds of thousands of Saabs are still driven worldwide, and keeping one on the road is realistic. The key point is that parts did not die with the car company. Saab Automobile Parts AB was excluded from the NEVS purchase and stayed under the Swedish state, and it was later renamed Orio. Orio bought the tooling for Saab Original spare parts from NEVS in December 2014, covering about 12,500 tools according to industry reports. Orio has since become Hedin Parts and Logistics, which describes itself as the exclusive supplier of Saab Original parts.

What to check before you buy or keep one

Because there is no dealer network, you rely on independent specialists and parts suppliers, so ask for a service history and a specialist inspection before buying. Enter the VIN at NHTSA’s recall lookup to see whether any safety recalls are still open, because recall repairs on an older car are easy to forget. If a brake, airbag or steering warning light comes on, stop driving and have the car checked by a qualified mechanic rather than diagnosing it yourself.

Many 9-3 and 9-5 mechanical parts came from the GM era, so GM’s brand history is useful background. Our guide to which brands GM owns shows where Saab sat in that family before 2010.

Frequently Asked Questions

Did Saab go bankrupt?

Yes. Saab Automobile filed for bankruptcy on 19 December 2011, after production had already stalled earlier that year for lack of funds under Spyker ownership.

Can I still buy a new Saab?

No. No new Saab cars are made today. The last new ones were the roughly 450 9-3 sedans NEVS built in 2013 and 2014, before Saab AB took back the right to use the Saab name.

Who owns the Saab name now?

Saab AB, the Swedish aerospace and defence company, still owns the Saab trademark. It licensed the name to NEVS and then revoked that licence in 2014.

Are Saab parts still available?

Yes. Saab Original parts have been supplied by Orio, a company since renamed Hedin Parts and Logistics, and many mechanical parts are shared with other GM models.

Is the Saab that builds jets the same company as Saab cars?

They share a founding company and a name, but they are separate today. Saab AB makes aircraft, radar and naval systems; the car company went bankrupt in 2011.

What happened to the Saab factory in Trollhättan?

NEVS sold 80% of the factory to Stenhaga Invest in May 2023, and Stenhaga later became sole owner. Car production there has ended.