Saab is a Swedish car manufacturer and currently a wholly-owned subsidiary of General Motors.

It is the exclusive automobile royal warrant holder as appointed by the king of Sweden.

As it evolved, it adopted ever more advancements to its turbocharging, safety and green technology.

"Svenska Aeroplan AB (aktiebolag)" (Swedish for "Swedish Aeroplane Limited") (SAAB) was founded in 1937 in Trollhattan, with the merger of SAAB and Linköping based ASJA. The headquarters moved to Linkoping. The style "Saab" replaced "SAAB" around 1950.

Saab was originally created as a division of the Swedish Aeroplane Company. The company had been established for the express purpose of building aircraft for the Swedish Air Force. With World War II nearing its end, the company began looking for new markets in which to expand.

In 1944, Project 92 began, with the goal of creating the first Saab passenger car. Five years later, the Saab 92 began production. The design highlighted the company’s roots in aviation.

Notably, the car’s drag coefficient of 0.30 was the lowest of any production car at the time. In 1969, Saab partnered with Swedish Truck Manufacturer Scania.

The 99 was the final Saab.

Its design, a clean break from all earlier Saabs, would mark the brand's styling for the next 20 years.

The 99 was also important in that it marked Saab's first turbocharged model. Saab's total world production in 2008 was 90,281 vehicles produced in three countries.

In December 1989, General Motors announced it had bought 50 per cent of Saab's automobile division with an option to acquire the remaining shares within a decade. Despite this, losses continued. At this point, Saab Automobile AB was created.

On 16 June 2009, it was announced that Koenigsegg and a group of Norwegian investors planned to acquire the brand from General Motors.

Current models include the 9-3 and 9-5, both manufactured in Sweden.

The Saab 9-7X SUV, discontinued since 2008, was manufactured in Moraine, Ohio.

On 11 February 2009, Saab Automobile announced the Saab 9-3X, a new addition to the 9-3 range with all road capabilities.

GREEN CREDENTIALS

Saab’s cars are well known for being very comfortable and well-equipped. The most part of the range can run on ethanol fuel. That makes Saab one of the greenest ranges worldwide.

Saab recently became the first manufacturer in Britain to offer a bio-powered option across an entire model range – the 9-5 BioPower is available in both estate and saloon flavours and runs on E85 bioethanol fuel, providing a 20 per cent gain in power and 15 per cent more torque than a standard petrol engine while also significantly reducing carbon dioxide emissions.

Saab, owned by GM, is also focused on issues relating to recycling and sustainability with claims that it takes these into consideration during the design and development stages of all of its products.

All of Saab’s factories have attained ISO 14001 certification relating to good environmental practice.

Saab has recently revealed a prototype 9-3 convertible powered by a hybrid combination of fossil-free bioethanol fuel (E100) and an electric motor, based on an advanced hybrid system being developed by GM. Saabs will in future be based on this concept.