Last Saab 9-5 Rolls Off the Production Line

Many of you probably thought that the Saab saga will end once the Swedish car manufacturer will be sold or closed down. And in the spirit of honesty, there have been times when no one was sure any more what was going to happen, as GM acted somehow confused on the matter.

Things are looking better now that Saab and its new owner Spyker formed a new entity called Saab Spyker Automobiles, "which will carry the Saab brand forward." And indeed they are leaving the past behind as the Saab 9-5, one of the oldest cars on the European market, has ceased production. The car has been around since 1997 and only suffered one serious overhauling in its 13-year of existence.

The last Saab 9-5 rolled off the production line at the Trollhattan plant in Sweden today. The car, a 9-5 SportKombi, was donated to the Saab Museum. Production of the sedan version actually ended back in July 2008.

In its 13 year history, the 9-5 model was produced in 483,593 sedans and wagons. This might seem like a lot, but it’s actually not that much considering that the previous Saab 9000 model managed to sell 503,000 units.

Though European production of the 9-5 stopped, this does not mean it’s the end. All the equipments and the rights for this car and the 9-3 have been sold to Beijing Automotive Industry Holding Co. So everything will go on a ship and the cars will re-enter production in China under a different name. The new 2010 Saab 9-5 will enter production in a few weeks. The 2010 9-5 model will start selling at the middle of this year.