Saffo estimates some 25 percent of his business comes from people who work for Saab, but he says his trade has emerged unscathed by the uncertainty that has clouded the company's future in the past few months.

"We haven't seen any effect yet. I've been working non-stop since Christmas and through Easter," he said.

But walk down the town's main shopping street and stores are far from bustling. Many have put up posters to advertise their special offers.

"There have been some more shops closing," said Gunnar Peterson, a lecturer in economics at Trollhättan's University West.

"But I think that is more to do with the economic crisis on a worldwide basis, rather than the problems Saab is having as a carmaker."

The Bishop Arms, an English-themed pub and the watering hole of choice of many Saab employees, is still doing a brisk trade. Its terrace is full most evenings as customers quench their thirst under the Swedish midsummer sun.

Magnus Nordberg, 38, business editor at the Trollhättan Tidning newspaper, has lived in the town all his life and has covered Saab for more than a decade.

He explained the reasoning behind the confidence in the automaker's future, telling AFP that Trollhättan's residents have heard many times that Saab was close to shutting down.

"I think people in this town are used to reading that Saab is in a difficult situation. We have heard that for 10 to 20 years. They think Saab will recover anyway because they have done it before," he said.

Nordberg also said management had been stressing to employees that GM's decision to sell was "a big opportunity to start a new era at the company," rather than a threat to its future.

"Perhaps it is naive, we are very hopeful everything will be okay," said Lennart Andersson, a taxi driver who lives in Trollhättan and also has friends working at the plant.

Unsurprisingly, Andersson prefers a Saab over Volvo, their Swedish rivals from nearby Gothenburg, some 75 kilometres (45 miles) away.

"It's maybe a bit more expensive to run, but it's more of a premium car," he said.