TROLLHATTAN, Sweden -

Saab Automobile had reason to celebrate just before the weekend as the automaker rolled out a batch of about 100 units on the first day of production since April 6.

The company plans to increase the daily production rate in the coming weeks in parallel with the full re-establishment of the supply chain.

The first vehicles to come off the assembly line were a silver Saab 9-5 Aero XWD and an orange Saab 9-3 Convertible Independence Edition.

With production restarted, Saab insisted it will now focus on building and delivering the thousands of vehicles ordered by customers around the globe.

As the assembly line was fired up again, Saab calculated the total number of outstanding orders from markets worldwide for the Trollhattan factory amounted to more than 6,500 vehicles. The total order bank, including about 1,600 Saab 9-4X orders, amounts to more than 8,100 units.

Officials added the total number includes the almost 1,300 units that were ordered by Pang Da Automobile for which it paid 30 million Euros up front.

Attending the restart of production late last week were Victor Muller, chief executive officer and chairman of Saab Automobile; Pang Qinghua, chairman and CEO of Pang Da Automobile; and Gunnar Brunius, Saab’s vice president of purchasing and manufacturing.

Watching the first unit roll off the line, Muller said: "This is a great day for our company and it is great to see the plant running again. We have gone through a rough patch in recent weeks, but Saab is back in action again.

"I would like to express my deep gratitude to our fantastic suppliers who have worked so hard with us to make this happen and to our loyal employees who have constantly stood by our side,” Muller continued.

“We will work hard in the coming period to regain confidence and show our ability to become a successful carmaker,” he went on to say. “We are fortunate that we are in the middle of the largest-ever product offensive in the company’s history. Last year we launched the all-new Saab 9-5 Sedan, while the 9-3 Griffin range went on sale earlier this year. The new Saab 9-4X, our first crossover, has enjoyed raving reviews from motoring media, and we already sold all 9-4X cars for model year 2011.

“After the summer, we start delivering the much-awaited Saab 9-5 SportCombi to customers,” Muller added.

Brunius chimed in about the production restart, stating, “I am very happy to see our plant in operation again. This is a highly important moment for everyone at Saab Automobile, especially for our loyal people here in the plant who have eagerly waited for this day.

“Given the complexity of re-establishing our supply chain there will most likely be some hiccups during this start-up phase, but we will work hard together with our suppliers to minimize any disruptions to production in the coming weeks,” Brunius concluded.