Borgward means business
It isn’t the most attractive name in automotive history, but its apparent comeback seems to be gaining traction.
Borgward cars were built in Bremen, Germany from the late 1920s until 1963, when its founder and managing director Carl Borgward died and the company was wound up.
Fast- forward to the 2015 Frankfurt Motor Show where, with the help of Chinese backers, Christian Borgward ( grandson of Carl) announced the company’s return with the BX7 compact SUV. There were plenty of plans outlaid to match the metal under the car cover; the creation of 100 jobs and more to follow, the goal of 10,000 vehicles per year . . .
Jaded journos have heard this sort of chest- thumping before, and Borgward didn’t appear to be about to give any of the established brands a fright. So off everyone wandered to the Bentley stand, where a larger SUV filled with champagne and caviar was about to be unveiled.
But it appears Christian Borgward wasn’t kidding around. This is no nephew- ofLancia- Stratos- designer- wantsto- build- Lancia- Stratosreplicas- for- rich- guys deal.
Borgward appears to be very serious about re- establishing itself as a household name. In fact, hot on the heels of news that the brand has poached Mini’s former design boss, the company has announced its next phase of manufacturing will commence in Germany.
Responsible for the most recent editions of the Mini hatch, convertible and Clubman, Anders Warming’s departure for the Chinese- German carmaker shocked the turtleneck sweaterwearing design community this year.
With a rather ambitious updated sales target of 800,000 vehicles sold by 2020, the firm clearly needs Warming to start scribbling up some new designs.
Now, rather than build cars in China, Borgward has stated it will build its cars in Bremen, its old neighbourhood.
The first model is expected to be a pure electric version of the BX7, which is already on sale in China in plug- in hybrid form.
And just when you think this all sounds rather grandly ambitious, Christian Borgward’s next announcement that the company now also has backing from big player Foton, would suggest Borgward is a blast from the past that might just stick.