National Electric Vehicle Sweden (NEV) AB started production of Saab Automobile 9-3 sedans today after the Swedish automaker filed for bankruptcy more than two years ago. NEV is the investment company that owns the automobile brand. In December 2011, Saab said it needed to forcibly postpone its production due to lack in cash.

In a statement today, NEVS President Mattias Bergman said, "It is truly a complex mission to start a car production process which has been still for two and a half years."

The roots of the Swedish car maker dated back to 1937, when aircraft manufacturer Svenska Aeroplan AB was established. In 1947, Svenska decided to manufacture cars. Svenska's automaker business was spun off from the aerospace operations in the 1990s, and the spin-off company was subsequently named Saab AB.

Previously owned by General Motors Co, which fully acquired the business in 2000 after exercising its right to acquire the remaining 50% of the automaker for USD125 million, Saab was eventually sold to Dutch supercar maker Spyker NV by GM in February 2010. Spyker failed to revive the car brand.

In June last year, a Chinese-Japanese investment group entered into an agreement to acquire the Swedish car maker and vowed to convert the company into an electric vehicle manufacturer. By next year, the first electric car model based on Saab's 9-3 model was poised to go on sale. Qingdao city, which partly-owns Saab, has already placed 200 of the vehicles to be delivered starting spring.

The gasoline-powered car model in Sweden will start on December 10 through NEV's website. A potential buyer could purchase the 9-3 for DKK279,000 or USD42,550.

The purchasing group of Saab was led by National Modern Energy Holdings Ltd, a Hong Kong-based renewable-energy power-plant builder which owns a 78% ownership stake in NEVS. Saab holds an exclusive automobile Royal Warrant, appointed by Sweden's king Carl XVI Gustaf. Companies who hold royal warrants entitles them to market themselves as exclusive product or service provider for a royal family.