--- title: "You Can Buy Saab’s Old Production Lines as Trollhattan Factory Is Finally Liquidated" date: "2024-12-11" modified: "2024-12-11" authors: - name: "Andrew P. Collins" job_title: "Executive Editor" link: "https://www.thedrive.com/authors/andrew-p-collins" url: "https://www.thedrive.com/news/end-of-the-line-saabs-iconic-factory-is-finally-being-parted-out" categories: - "Culture" - "News" --- # You Can Buy Saab’s Old Production Lines as Trollhattan Factory Is Finally Liquidated ![]() *\Surplex\* The [Saab]() we knew and loved as a cute and quirky car brand died in 2011. Since then there have been a few gasps of hope for its return, but nothing serious has ever materialized. Today we have a new line item for the Swedish automaker's post-mortem history: The Trollhättan Saab factory's [presses and manufacturing equipment are for sale](). Anybody want to try and start stamping out 9-3s again? Saab, the company, is still [very much alive](). It employs about 22,000 people selling fighter jets, weapon systems, and other tools of war. [Saab the automaker]() has had a rougher ride. "It's a really brilliant brand. It's probably one of the biggest brand mismanagement stories in the history of the automotive industry," said business analyst Tim Urquhart back in 2010 when the company was collapsing. ![]() *A photo from Saab's last real glory days as a car company, circa 1990. *Saab** As most car nerds know, Saab was fully bought by General Motors [in 2000]()—GM had had a major stake since 1989. Though the car company completely flatlined in 2011, the GM acquisition is when Saab stopped being Saab. [Spyker](), a small Dutch brand you might recognize from its exceptionally eccentric supercars, bought Saab [in 2010]() and, sadly, only presided over its ultimate demise. [In 2012]() it tried to sue GM for screwing them over by intentionally bankrupting Saab but was not successful. Spyker itself [went bankrupt]() just a couple of years later. Saab Automobiles got scooped up by a Chinese-Swedish investment group called NEVS (for National Electric Vehicle Sweden), and [in 2013]() it looked like the assembly lines were going to start cranking out 9-3s again. There was a brief almost-revival, and a tiny batch of super cool [9-5 Sport Combi models]() were made but serious production was never achieved. NEVS got as far as [showing off some prototypes]() and promising to put cars on the road [by 2018](), but ... no. Actually, there was one (1) [new Saab sold in 2018]()—a 2011 model-year diesel, manual, 9-3 station wagon that somehow ended up at a dealership in Italy. ![Saab factory manufacturing equipment.]() *This stuff could used to make Saabs. But of course, you could build your own car designs with it. *Surplex* Surplex* Ultimately seeking bankruptcy protection, NEVS lost the rights to the Saab car brand name [in 2014](). A company called Evergrande, which was a big Faraday Future investor, ended up acquiring a majority stake in NEVS [in 2019](). The last I heard about that was that the Swedish small-batch supercar company Koenigsegg was [linking up with them](), possibly to try and build a mass-market car, I guess potentially utilizing the Trollhättan factory that hasn't made a car in about a decade. The Trollhättan Saab factory, which built its first car in 1947 after the company was set up for airplane-making a decade earlier, was finally given up on by NEVS completely in 2023. Whew, that's a lot of auto-industry contexts we just speed-ran! Today, Saab was in my inbox for the first time in forever because a company called [Surplex](), which liquidates all kinds of industrial stuff, is hawking the stamping tools and presses that occupy the Trollhättan ex-Saab facility. ![Eccentric press used in automobile manufacturing.]() ![Old saab 95 at factory.]() You can scroll through the listings on [Surplex's site]() and see that some of these machines date back to the '60s. They must have been used back when Saab was cool. Basically, we're witnessing Saab's last part out here. There are a couple of [smaller presses]() that I actually could imagine a rich car nerd acquiring for fun, but most of the equipment is colossal, requiring serious industrial space to house and operate. As for shipping it, I can't imagine what kind of costs would be involved in dismantling and moving any of this stuff. Though it may very well be less than buying a brand-new car factory. That's the angle Surplex is taking with its sales pitch—get your own automaker off the ground cheap with used stamping equipment! There are no prices listed, but sales project manager Oscar Soler Monte's contact information is easy to find if you'd like to make a bid. *Got any ideas on what to do with Saab's old manufacturing equipment? Drop the author a line at andrew.collins@thedrive.com.* ## Author As Executive Editor, Andrew touches everything on the site from daily news coverage to feature stories, sponsored content, product reviews, road testing vehicles, ecommerce, and more. He's held pretty much every role there is to have at an automotive news site and has been with The Drive's publisher Recurrent since 2020. Andrew's a lifetime gearhead and longtime writer with a particularly strong penchant for road trips, off-road adventures, and archaic vehicles. His passions outside of the automotive world include skiing, obsolete video games, and his dog Bramble who occationally helps review cars. ### Author social links [Instagram]() [LinkedIn]()