The automotive industry in Sweden is mainly associated with passenger car manufacturers Volvo Cars and Saab Automobile but Sweden is also home of two of the largest truck manufacturers in the world: AB Volvo and Scania 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 of Swedish industry. In 2011 around 110,000 people were employed and the export income of 150 billion SEK accounted for 12 per cent of Sweden's export income. During 2009 128,738 passenger cars and 27,698 heavy vehicles were built in Sweden. 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.
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History
Up to 1918
The first Swedish automobile was a steam car built in 1891-92 by brothers Jöns and Anders Cederholm. They planned to use it for transportation between their home in Ystad and their summer house outside town. The automobile was destroyed in Sweden's first automobile accident but the Cederholm brothers soon built a second, improved version of their steam car reusing many parts from the first one. The car is preserved in a museum in Skurup.
In 1898 Gustaf Erikson at Surahammars Bruk built an automobile with an internal combustion engine for Vabis in Södertälje. Erikson continuously improved his car until Vabis was satisfied, and started production of automobiles and trucks in 1902.
Harald Håkansson built the first electric car in Sweden on behalf of AB Atlas in 1900. The project never went beyond this single prototype.
The bicycle manufacturer Maskinfabriks-aktiebolaget Scania in Malmö started producing automobiles and trucks in 1902. The company amalgamated with Vabis in 1911, creating Scania-Vabis. The new company concentrated their production of automobiles and light trucks to Södertälje while the Malmö plant built heavy trucks.
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. Tidaholm built a small number of automobiles but their main products were heavy trucks and buses.
Åtvidabergs Vagnfabrik used an American high 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 This vehicle was so outdated Åtvidaberg did not manage to sell more than 12 of them.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 into draisines for railroad inspection.
1919 to 1945
Swedish aircraft manufacturer AB Thulinverken in Landskrona started building automobiles in 1920. The car was based on a design from German manufacturer AGA. The production was limited and when Volvo started production in 1927 Thulin left the automobile industry after some 500 cars had been built.
In 1921 Scania-Vabis went bankrupt. 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 the Swedish postal service. The large and powerful Scania-Vabis trucks were also used for snow removal and other road maintenance work in Sweden.
In the 1920s Ford Motor Company and General Motors opened assembly plants in Sweden. Chrysler Corporation cooperated with Svenska Bilfabriken AB. Ford's factory in Stockholm was active until mid-1950s.
Volvo started production of passenger cars and light trucks in Gothenburg in 1927, backed by ball bearing manufacturer SKF. Production of passenger cars was limited during the first decades but the trucks were successful and kept the company profitable.
During the great depression Tidaholm started losing money and finally halted vehicle production in 1934. Some 850 vehicles had been manufactured since 1903.
AB Nyköpings Automobilfabrik (ANA) started licence assembly in 1937, first from American Chrysler Corporation and later on from European companies like Standard Motor Company and Simca. Car assembly stopped when Saab bought ANA in 1960.
1946 to 1970
After the Second World War military aircraft manufacturer Saab AB started looking for a civilian product to fill their workshops. The answer was passenger cars. Production of the small Saab automobile started in Trollhättan in 1949. The powertrain with a two-stroke engine and front-wheel drive resembled the German DKW which was popular in Sweden before the war, while the unibody showed influence from the aircraft industry.