What do you do when it suddenly becomes clear that the car museum you work at must close just before the peak summer season? “Why not open an even bigger exhibition!” That was essentially the reaction of the staff at the Saab Car Museum when they received the news that the premises had to be vacated due to roof renovations. And so they did! The cars were moved to Nova Arena, where the exhibition The Box became a success. Now the museum has returned to its regular premises and can look back on a fantastic summer while also looking forward to reopening on Saturday, 20 February.
When the roof of Nohab old locomotive factory was scheduled for renovation during the summer of 2026, Saab Car Museum faced a major challenge. The museum had to be emptied and all the cars moved. Instead, between 6 June and 30 September, the museum displayed more cars than ever before at Nova Arena. The initiative was a great success, making summer 2026 the museum's best summer ever in terms of visitor numbers and revenue.
“Emptying the museum, putting the cars into storage and taking a holiday during the construction period was never an option. When our landlord, Kraftstaden, suggested that we could display the cars at Nova Arena, which had no events planned for the summer, we started exploring the possibilities,” explains Mikael Granberg, Business Developer at Saab Car Museum.
After some consideration, the museum staff realised that they could actually fit even more cars into Nova Arena than could normally be displayed at Saab Car Museum's regular premises.
“We decided early on that The Box would be a major undertaking. Although the museum has limited resources and the exhibition would only be open for four months, we wanted to create something that would appeal both to dedicated Saab enthusiasts and to the general public,” Mikael Granberg continues.
“Normally, we display a maximum of around 70 to 80 cars at the museum. This time, we were able to present no fewer than 115 cars, something our visitors clearly appreciated,” says Peter Bäckström, the museum's Curator.
“However, organising the move was quite tricky. To get everything in place, we also enlisted the help of a number of former Saab employees people who know a thing or two about getting old cars up and running,” says Peter Bäckström, extending his heartfelt thanks to everyone who worked hard to move the cars there and back.
Was it all worth the effort, after all the planning and work involved in the move?
“Yes, it was fantastic to see so many tourists coming to Trollhättan to visit us at The Box. We have never welcomed so many guests during a summer season as we did this year,” says Jessica Axelsson, clearly delighted with the result.
A total of 30,400 people visited The Box between its opening on 6 June and its closure on 30 September. Since 1 January 2026, the Saab Car Museum has welcomed nearly 35,700 visitors. Throughout 2025, the museum welcomed a total of 32,300 visitors. Despite being closed for four months this year in connection with preparations for The Box and the subsequent move back to the museum, last year's visitor numbers have already been comfortably surpassed.
Jessica Axelsson, who is responsible for the museum shop, can also confirm that sales reached record levels.
“Our fantastic visitors emptied our shop at a rate we simply hadn't anticipated. We were kept busy trying to keep up with customers and restocking the shelves as items sold out,” Jessica Axelsson says with a laugh.
What began as an emergency solution to a major challenge turned out to be something truly special. The fact that many international visitors chose to travel to Trollhättan during their vacation because of the Saab Car Museum is not only gratifying, but also important for both the museum and Trollhättan’s tourism industry as a whole.
Now, all attention is focused on the next challenge. As the roof renovation finally approaches completion, the museum must be put back in order and preparations made for its reopening on Saturday, 20 February.
“Returning visitors will notice that not everything is quite as it was before, but they will still recognise the place. And that's exactly how it should be,” says Mikael Granberg with a smile when asked about upcoming news. At the same time, he sends out a reminder that everyone should already mark the highlight of 2027 in their calendars: Saab Car Museum Festival, 4–6 June!
