German Carmaker Plans Comeback after 54-Year Hiatus

Germany's Borgward AG is partnering with China's Beiqi Foton Motor Co. to unveil a plug-in hybrid crossover/SUV at the Frankfurt auto show in September.

The Stuttgart-based company released a teaser image of the vehicle, which media reports say will be about the same size as the upcoming Mercedes-Benz GLE crossover. No other details were provided.

Borgward, whose origins date back to the early 1900s, dissolved in bankruptcy in 1961. The company was reformed in 2008 by Christian Borgward the grandson of founder Carl Borgward and industry veteran Karl-Heinz Knoss. Former Saab designer Einar Hareide also has joined the company, which says it now has 1,000 employees.

The carmaker's highly ambitious plans call for introducing a range of models at a rate of two per year, focusing on "accessible premium" sedans and crossover vehicles. The company targets annual sales of 800,000 vehicles by 2020 and 1.6 million by 2025.

Borgward says all engineering and design work will be done in Germany. Media reports speculate Foton will produce at least some of the vehicles in China, which is expected to be one of the company's initial target markets.

The revived company displayed a 1950s-era Borgward Isabella coupe at the Geneva auto show in March. In addition to the Borgward name, the company previously marketed vehicles under the Hansa, Goliath and Lloyd brands.