ge4844646512457242978
John Mahoney5 Mar 2015
NEWS

GENEVA MOTOR SHOW: Borgward brand returns after 54 years

Old million-selling German car brand announces it's working on an all-new plug-in hybrid concept for its return

Former BMW rival Borgward has announced it will return to car making as soon as next year following a 54-year hiatus.

Confirming late last night at the Geneva motor show that work has already begun on a plug-in hybrid concept, Borgward is now expected to reveal its first concept car in over five decades at this year’s Frankfurt motor show in September.

The return of the German car maker has been linked by industry pundits with a commercial tie-up with Beijing truck and commercial vehicle maker, Foton - but Borgward has yet to confirm the partnership that could see production begin at the Beijing truck maker’s factories.

It was originally expected that Borgward would use the Geneva show to unveil a new concept car but the German car maker only confirmed it’s working on a new plug-in hybrid. That concept will now only be revealed once Borgward had moved from its temporary base in Lausanne, Switzerland, to its new home in Mercedes-Benz and Porsche’s back yard Stuttgart, Germany.

In its heyday, before the premium car maker went bankrupt back in 1961, Borgward employed more than 23,000 people, and manufactured in excess of one million vehicles.

Borgward became known as a technical pioneer developing direct fuel injection and, Borgward claims, inventing the affordable sports sedan segment with its Isabella sedan.

Today Borgward is led by industrialist Karlheinz Knöss and Christian Borgward, grandson of the founder Carl Borgward
Borgward was originally founded in 1919 and also has a rich sporting heritage to draw on. The German car maker raced both at the Nurburgring 1000km and the Le Mans 24hr.

Speaking of the forthcoming model Borgward claims its future vehicles will be “luxurious, inventive and bold.”

Share this article
Our team of independent expert car reviewers and journalistsMeet the team
Stay up to dateBecome a carsales member and get the latest news, reviews and advice straight to your inbox.
Download the carsales app
    AppStoreDownloadGooglePlayDownload
    App Store and the Apple logo are trademarks of Apple Inc. Google Play and the Google Play logo are trademarks of Google LLC.
    © CAR Group Ltd 1999-2024
    In the spirit of reconciliation we acknowledge the Traditional Custodians of Country throughout Australia and their connections to land, sea and community. We pay our respect to their Elders past and present and extend that respect to all Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples today.