German Car Brand Gets New Lease on Life With Chinese Money
- ‘You do not smell the money behind the product’: Borgward CEO
- Chinese consumers want to show they made it with foreign brand
Borgward, the Bremen car brand revived by a state-owned Chinese bus maker after going bust in 1961, has surprised many including its own CEO by racking up more than 30,000 units in sales for its first model over eight months. The winning formula: touting its German heritage while saying as little as possible about its Chinese backers.
At the Shanghai Motor Show later this month, Borgward Group AG will showcase the electric version of its BX7 SUV that’s slated to be available later this year alongside the BX5 compact SUV that went on sale last month. At a starting price of 149,800 yuan ($21,700), the BX5 will compete with similarly priced compact SUVs from Chinese carmakers SAIC Motor Corp., Changan Automobile Group Co. and Guangzhou Automobile Group Co. The smaller BX5 will complement the BX7 SUV that made its debut last year.