Saab 9-3 Aero production restarts in Sweden

Production of the petrol-powered Saab 9-3 Aero sedan resumes today, more than two and a half years after volume production at the Swedish plant ceased in April 2011, eight months before Saab filed for bankruptcy in December that year.

NEVS spokesman Mikael Oestlund told Automotive News Europe that initial output at the plant would be "humble", with a future increase possible.

Aimed at the Chinese market, production of an electric-powered 9-3 is due to begin in 2014, potentially with a facelifted exterior, and is likely to be followed by a convertible variant.

The first Saab-badged vehicle built under NEVS rolled off the production line in September this year, with the pre-production car looking near identical to the circa-2011 Saab 9-3.

A Chinese-Japanese consortium, NEVS signed a purchase agreement to buy Saab in June 2012.

At the time of its demise, the Saab 9-3 Aero sedan was powered by a 154kW/300Nm turbocharged 2.0-litre four-cylinder petrol engine.