Theautomotive industry in Sweden is mainly associated with passenger car manufacturersVolvo Cars andSaab Automobile but Sweden is also home of two of the largest truck manufacturers in the world:AB Volvo andScania AB. The automotive industry is heavily dependent on export as some 85 percent of the passenger cars and 95 percent of the heavy vehicles are sold outside of Sweden. The automotive industry and its sub-contractors is a major part ofSwedish industry. In 2011 around 110,000 people were employed and the export income of 150 billionSEK accounted for 12 per cent of Sweden's export income.^[1] During 2009 128,738 passenger cars and 27,698 heavy vehicles were built in Sweden.^[2]Koenigsegg is also a famous Swedish company which makes some of the fastest cars in the world, but also some of the most expensive. They currently produce models such as the Jesko, Gemera, and CC850.

The first Swedish automobile was asteam car built in 1891-92 by brothers Jöns and Anders Cederholm. They planned to use it for transportation between their home inYstad and their summer house outside town. The automobile was destroyed in Sweden's firstautomobile accident but the Cederholm brothers soon built a second, improved version of their steam car reusing many parts from the first one.^[3] The car is preserved in a museum inSkurup.

In 1898 Gustaf Erikson atSurahammars Bruk built an automobile with aninternal combustion engine forVabis inSödertälje.^[4] Erikson continuously improved his car until Vabis was satisfied, and started production of automobiles and trucks in 1902.

Harald Håkansson built the firstelectric car in Sweden on behalf ofAB Atlas in 1900. The project never went beyond this single prototype.^[4]

Thebicycle manufacturerMaskinfabriks-aktiebolaget Scania inMalmö started producing automobiles and trucks in 1902. The company amalgamated with Vabis in 1911, creatingScania-Vabis. The new company concentrated their production of automobiles and light trucks to Södertälje while the Malmö plant built heavy trucks.^[5]

In 1903,Tidaholms Bruk built a truck called Tor. After a second Tor prototype the company started production on a larger scale under the name Tidaholm.^[4] Tidaholm built a small number of automobiles but their main products were heavy trucks and buses.

Åtvidabergs Vagnfabrik used anAmericanhigh wheeler as model for their automobile in 1910. This vehicle was so outdated Åtvidaberg did not manage to sell more than 12 of them. The rest of the cars were turned intodraisines for railroad inspection.^[4]

Swedishaircraft manufacturerAB Thulinverken inLandskrona started building automobiles in 1920. The car was based on a design from German manufacturerAGA.^[6] The production was limited and when Volvo started production in 1927 Thulin left the automobile industry after some 500 cars had been built.^[7]

In 1921 Scania-Vabis wentbankrupt. After reconstruction the company decided to abandon passenger car production and close their plant in Malmö and focus on truck production in Södertälje. The situation got better when Scania-Vabis received a large order for buses from theSwedish postal service.^[5] The large and powerful Scania-Vabis trucks were also used forsnow removal and other road maintenance work in Sweden.

In the 1920sFord Motor Company andGeneral Motors openedassembly plants in Sweden.Chrysler Corporation cooperated with Svenska Bilfabriken AB.^[4] Ford's factory inStockholm was active until mid-1950s.

Volvo started production of passenger cars and light trucks inGothenburg in 1927, backed byball bearing manufacturerSKF. Production of passenger cars was limited during the first decades but the trucks were successful and kept the company profitable.^[8]

During theGreat Depression Tidaholm started losing money and finally halted vehicle production in 1934. Some 850 vehicles had been manufactured since 1903.^[7]

AB Nyköpings Automobilfabrik (ANA) started licence assembly in 1937, first from American Chrysler Corporation and later on from European companies likeStandard Motor Company andSimca.^[4] Car assembly stopped when Saab bought ANA in 1960.

After theSecond World Warmilitary aircraft manufacturerSaab AB started looking for a civilian product to fill their workshops. The answer was passenger cars. Production of the small Saab automobile started inTrollhättan in 1949. Thepowertrain with atwo-stroke engine andfront-wheel drive resembled the GermanDKW which was popular in Sweden before the war, while theunibody showed influence from the aircraft industry.^[4]

Both Volvo and Scania-Vabis begun exporting their trucks in the 1930s but it wasn't until the 1950s volumes started rising. Like other Swedish products the trucks were needed in the rebuilding of Europe after the war. By the end of the decade Volvo and Saab, like the rest of the European automobile industry, started exporting their passenger cars to the vastAmerican market.

Volvo and Saab were successful inrallying in the 1960s.^[3] Saabs successes with their top driverErik Carlsson in theMonte Carlo Rally and theRAC Rally opened up a new market for the small automobile maker in theUnited Kingdom. The US and Britain would remain virtually the sole export markets for Saab, which in the end would prove fatal for production volume.

Between 1969 and 1971Kalmar Verkstad produced a purpose-built vehicle for the Swedish postal service calledTjorven. Kalmar Verkstad also experimented with asemi-trailer truck, but this project never materialized.^[4]

In 1969 theWallenberg family merged their aircraft and automobile manufacturer Saab with their truck manufacturer Scania-Vabis into one company, calledSaab-Scania.^[5] One and a half year earlier the truck manufacturer dropped the Vabis name and their products have since then been sold under the name Scania only.

During the general decline of the automotive industry following the1973 oil crisis, Volvo and Saab-Scania felt they were too small to survive on their own in the long run. In 1977 plans were presented on a merger between the two companies. The plan eventually fell apart due to resistance from Saab-Scania's shareholders.^[9]

Volvo launched an important new model, the300 series hatchback, in 1976, which sold well in Sweden and in many other parts of Europe, including the United Kingdom, where it was the best selling foreign car in 1982 and remained among the most popular imports there for the rest of the decade. The 300 was initially only available as a three-door hatchback with automatic transmission, but the range of body styles soon expanded to include a five-door hatchback and a four-door saloon, as well as manual transmission becoming available along with a wider range of engines. It continued in production until 1991, some four years after the launch of theVolvo 440/460 which was intended to replace it.

The mid-range200 Series saloons and estates were hugely popular from their launch in 1974, and continued until 1993, two years after the launch of its front-wheel-drive replacement, theVolvo 850. There was also a coupe version of the Volvo 200, the 262, but most examples were sold in the US.

The top-of-the-rangeVolvo 700 Series saloon and estate, launched in 1982, was a popular choice in the sector of the market dominated across Europe by the likes ofBMW andMercedes-Benz.

TheSaab 900, launched in 1979 to compete with conventional European family cars like theFord Cortina/Taunus andRenault 18 as well as the more upmarketBMW 3 Series, was a strong seller throughout the 1980s, and Saab strengthened its position at the top end of the market in 1985 with the launch of the larger9000.

In 1989 the Wallenberg group finally found a partner for Saab in General Motors. Automobile production was placed in a new company calledSaab Automobile which was owned by 50 percent each byInvestor AB and General Motors.

In 1993 Volvo presented plans for a merger with French automakerRenault.^[9] The merger was never completed due to resistance from Volvo's shareholders but it ended up with Volvo taking control of Renault's truck divisionRVI and Renault becoming a major shareholder in Volvo.

During the 1990s a couple ofsports car manufacturers popped up in Sweden as a bright contrast to the safe and sensible automobiles associated with Volvo and Saab.Koenigsegg was founded inÄngelholm in 1994 and between 1996 and 1998Jösse Car inArvika built some 40Indigo 3000 roadsters, mainly using existing parts from Volvo.^[10]

In 1999 Volvo sold its passenger car divisionVolvo Cars to Ford Motor Company. Volvo intended to use the money they got from the deal to buy Scania from the Wallenberg group, but the plans fell on theEuropean Union's anti-trust legislation stating this would give Volvo close to monopoly in Scandinavia.^[11]

In 2001 General Motors took over Investor AB's share in Saab Automobile, taking full control over its subsidiary.

After the failed takeover Volvo sold their shares in Scania toVolkswagen Group in the early 2000s. Volkswagen has since then increased their interest in Scania and since 2008 Volkswagen Group is the majority owner.^[12]

The first Koenigseggsports car left the factory in 2002. The price of the car keeps production on a low level but in 2013 the company delivered their 100th vehicle.^[13]

Theautomotive industry crisis of 2008–10 has had a great impact on the formerly Swedish owned automobile makers. In 2009 Ford sold Volvo Cars to ChineseZhejiang Geely Holding Group. Volvo Cars is the first western automotive manufacturer owned by a Chinese company.^[14]

In 2008 General Motors (GM) decided to either sell or, if no suitable buyer turned up, kill off Saab Automobile. First prospective buyer was Swedish sports car manufacturer Koenigsegg. When these talks failed Dutch sports car makerSpyker Cars succeeded. Spyker bought Saab Automobile from GM in 2010 formingSwedish Automobile. The deal ended inbankruptcy less than two years later.^[15]

In 2012 Chinese-JapaneseNational Electric Vehicle Sweden (NEVS) announced they had bought the remains of Saab Automobile.^[16] They have also received the rights to use the Saab name fromSaab AB. NEVS is planning to start production of an electric car based on the well provenSaab 9-3 platform in Trollhättan.^[17]

In 2013 Volvo AB announced they will set up ajoint venture with Chinese auto makerDongfeng Motor to build heavy trucks in China. With this deal Volvo will surpassDaimler AG and become the biggest manufacturer of heavy trucks in the world.^[18]

In 2016, thestartupUniti Sweden raised over €1,227,990 via acrowdfunding campaign to develop and manufacture ahigh techelectric city car.^[19] Uniti is a lightweight sustainableelectric car made ofbiocomposites andcarbon fibers. The car will be registered in theheavy quadricycle category (L7e) and will feature new technologies such as asteer-by-wire system as well as ahead-up display.^[20] The car is designed to reach 300 km of range and a maximum speed of 120 km/h. The factory will be located inSweden and the company will produce 50,000 cars per year.

• List of automobile manufacturers of Sweden

• Bil SwedenArchived 2017-10-21 at theWayback Machine
• Fordonskomponentgruppen

• Automotive industry in Sweden

• Articles with short description
• Short description with empty Wikidata description
• Webarchive template wayback links