Since 1989, Saab has been undergoing a roller coaster ride of money woes, design disasters, ever-changing ownership and suffered Genuine Saab parts issues that have often prevented repairs, or even regular maintenance. Why? A big part of the issue was that some of Saab’s parts seemed nowhere to be found. While the sad Saab story may not have a happy ending, other companies have stepped in to fill the gap of hard-to-find Saab parts so that Saab enthusiasts can keep carrying on the legacy.
NEW PHOTO of SAAB automobile
While genuine Saab parts may no longer be manufactured, currently there are places you canindeed still find Saab OEM and aftermarket parts, and hopefully will remain as long as there is demand. Sound a bit confusing? Don’t feel alone because it is confusing to us all!
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Enough History to Confuse You Even More
So then, in 1989 GM decided to fork out $600 million to purchase a 50% stake in the then Swedish carmaker. At the time, Saab was a Swedish-owned company with production lines rolling in Trollhättan, Sweden and most importantly, it was considered to be a high-end luxury vehicle. It isn’t necessary to list everything that started to go wrong from design to quality to marketing, but to save them from bankruptcy way back then, GM stepped in and bought up half the company. Everything was fine, or so it seemed, until the bottom dropped out from under the automotive industry in 2008, and GM began admitting their financial problems with this ‘Swedish’ side of their business.
Fast Forward to 2010
Once again, the now wholly-owned GM ‘Swedish’ automaker was in bankruptcy. New vehicle and original parts production stopped and along came a Swedish group – NEVS – that would soon buy up stock in Saab, saving it from dissolution, yet again. However, much to the world’s chagrin, NEVS is anything but a Swedish enterprise. Yes, NEVS does own Saab and yes, they will be manufacturing Saab genuine parts and vehicles once again from Sweden, but NEVS is in fact not a Swedish enterprise! The company is based in Hong Kong and operates out of the British Virgin Islands. Talk about an identity crisis, how is that for a story? From Sweden to the United States to Hong Kong to the British Virgin Islands. No wonder Saab OEM and aftermarket parts can be difficult to come by. Where do you look for them? Only a globetrotter might know where to begin.
Is It the End to the Sad Saab Story?
If you check out the company website, you are redirected to the NEVS site. Although there is good press and bad press, it seemed as though NEVS really would be manufacturing Saab once again.Instead of the luxury vehicle most people had come to equate with the brand, NEVS would be producing electric Saab cars with a focus on sustainability. They were expected to begin full-scale production by 2018, opening a new chapter of this three-decade-old sad Saab story.
Unfortunately, by end of 2016 Saab had been officially declared dead. NEVS will not be using the brand. Therefore, certain rare, low-volume models could become very valuable and highly-sought after; and perhaps already are in some collector circles. We’ll see how the used car and auto parts marketplaces respond over the next few years.
If you own a SAAB automobile, remember you can still find OEM and aftermarket replacement parts at stores like eEuroparts since NEVS most likely won’t have them. And if you can find the partsneeded to keep it running well, the driving experience in a Saab will always be fun and elegant in its own quirky way that man people have grown to love.