Audi, Mercedes-Benz and BMW may be known as Germany’s big three automakers, and while there are a handful of smaller companies with German engineering rolling off assembly lines, there once used to be another big contender that has been absent for over 50 years. Now, after filing for bankruptcy in 1961, the once popular Borgward is set to make a triumphant return when it debuts its first new vehicle at the Frankfurt Auto Show this September.
In 2005, Christian Borgward, the grandson of founder Carl F. W. Borgward, decided to revive the defunct auto brand, and after a ten year tie up with China’s Foton, the company announced its return at the Geneva Motor Show in March.
“We want to become one of the top players in the automotive industry,” Borgward president Karlheinz Knöss said during the companies public return.
Borgward has teased auto fans with a glimpse of its first new vehicle, a premium SUV expected to target the Chinese market first before moving into Europe. Little is known about the SUV except for the fact that at least one model will electric as Borgward confirmed that they are working on a hybrid plug-in system.
This SUV is just one of the many new vehicles planned in the companies revival timeline. Borgward said earlier that a full range of vehicles are in the pipeline.
While the full details on Borgward’s first new vehicle in over five decades will be revealed on September 15, the new SUV isn’t expected to hit roads until sometime in 2016.
Sources: Borgward, Motor Authority, Wales Online
Photo: Borgward
