The car production was launched in the Uusikaupunki Saab-Valmet car factory. The manufacturing of the Saab 95, 96 and Saab 99 models was started, and the first car, a Saab 96, was completed on November 13, 1969.
Then, 1978, The Saab 900 was a success story for Saab-Valmet. The production volume surpassed all other models, and it was the platform that eventually launched larger-scale engineering services in Uusikaupunki.
1983 Production start of the Saab 90 – The first Saab model made exclusively in Finland. Three years later, Production start of the Saab 9000 on August 9, 1986. Production of the most luxurious Saab model to date started at the Uusikaupunki plant. August 6, 1999 Valmet Automotive designed, engineered and manufactured the Saab 9-3 convertibles – and the Viggen special series.
These are just some of the milestones that mark important events in the history of the Saab brand and the production of Saab cars in Finnish small city of Uusikaupunki . Uusikaupunki is a small city by the sea on the south-west coast of Finland, near the cities of Turku (70 km) and Rauma (50 km). The population of the city is approximately 15,500. Despite its name (literally, ‘Uusikaupunki’ means ‘New City’), the city was founded in 1617.
Recently, the Museum of Uusikaupunki has published interesting photos from their archives. In this album you can see photos from Saab-Valmet car factory in Uusikaupunki. Original photos are in the archives of the museum of Uusikaupunki. There’s a lot of pictures of the Saab-Valmet factory in the museum. Sadly, they have not yet been catalogued or digitised.
