During this 50th anniversary year as a car manufacturer, Saab Automobile AB has passed another historical milestone: it has built its 3-millionth car. Saab No. 3,000,000 is a silver Saab 9-5, powered by a 2.3L Turbo engine. The 9-5 is Saab's new performance sedan recently introduced in the European market and available in North America in the spring of 1998 as a '99 model.
The first Saab car was unveiled to the press on June 10, 1947. The Swedish Aircraft Company (Saab) began full production of cars in December, 1949, about the same time as the last Saab J-21 rear-propeller fighter plane rolled out of the Trollhattan, Sweden, factory. Since then, the Trollhattan plant has built automobiles exclusively, while Saab aircraft production continues in Linkoping, Sweden.