A brief history of Saab

Saab opened its factory in Trollhättan in 1938, and it originally produced aircraft during World War Two for the Royal Swedish Air Force.

Its first production car was the Saab 92. which was launched in 1947, and Saab quickly established a reputation for building safe and reliable cars.

Saab ventured into the computing industry in the 1950s with its subsidiary Datasaab, and it developed a computer small enough to be used for aircraft navigation.

The 93, 94 and 95 all followed the 92, and the 99, launched in 1969 was Saab's first turbocharged model.

Saab merged with truck maker Scania in 1968 and up until 1995, the company was called Saab-Scania.

It produced its millionth car in 1976 and two years later it signed a deal with Fiat to sell a rebadged Lancia Delta as a Saab 600.

The two firms then co-developed the Type Four chassis, which produced the Alfa Romeo 164, Fiat Croma, Saab 9000 and Lancia Thema.

Saab introduced the Combi-Coupe in 1974, which lived on in various guises until it was replaced by the 9-3 in 2002.

General Motors bought a 50 per cent stake in Saab in 1989, and Saab recorded a profit in 1995 for the first time in seven years.

GM bought the remaining shares in Saab in 2000, but it was in effect put up for sale by the US giant last December, when it was announced that the Swedish firm's position as one of its brands was "under review".

Saab entered administration in February this year but GM agreed to sell the firm to Swedish supercar manufacturer Koenigsegg. The deal fell through earlier this month and GM said Saab would be closed by Christmas if no new buyer could be found. GM announced Saab would be closed on 18 December.