Saab's new owners push the 'go' button

The Saab 9-5, and its convertible and wagon variants, will be vital for the brand's survival. Photo / Supplied

Production of cars has restarted at Saab's Trolhättan plant in Sweden after an interruption of seven weeks, during which the future of the company was settled with a sale by General Motors to Spyker Cars.

Saab has a lot of ground to make up; sales and production suffered in 2009 under the combined impact of the recession and the prolonged period of uncertainty over the company's future.

However, Saab should benefit from the concentration of all production at Trolhättan.

Among the first cars off the line were convertibles (production of which was previously outsourced) and an example of the new 9-5, which had originally been expected to be produced by Opel in Germany before Saab secured its independence.

The company is hoping for a further boost with the planned introduction of the next-generation 9-5 estate next year.

- THE INDEPENDENT