Borgward revival gathers speed with more announcements of key personnel.

Borgward named former Daimler China boss, Ulrich Walker, as its CEO as the company prepares to resurrect the German brand with Chinese backing. Walker, 63, retired from Daimler in 2012 after a 30-year career with the automaker which included stints as head of the Smart microcar brand and CEO of the company's northeast Asia operations including China.

Walker said he is confident that Borgward "will win back its place in the international automotive industry." Although the brand has a long way to go, it had “a solid base, strong financial background and a clear vision and strategy,” Walker said in a statement.

Borgward plans to unveil its first model, an SUV, at the Frankfurt auto show in September, ahead of its production start in 2016. The company is creating a range of cars including small, midsize and compact models under its design head, Einar Hareide, a former designer at Saab and Volvo.

Borgward is being revived with backing from Chinese truck company Beiqi Foton, media reports have said. Christian Borgward, grandson of the company's founder, Carl F.W. Borgward, announced plans to revive the brand at the Geneva auto show in March. He did not comment on the brand's backers.

Walker has “wide industrial experience and a broad understanding of the premium car sector in Germany,” Christian Borgward said in the statement.

Between 1919 and 1961, Borgward built more than 1 million cars in its plant in Bremen, Germany, including the Borgward Hansa 1500 sedan and the Isabella TS coupe. The company marketed cars under three different brands including Goliath and Lloyd before closing because of financial troubles.

David Jolley

REPORT HERE

BMW and Toyota to co-operate on new small car, bringing the MINI Rocketman Concept to market ?

BMW Group and Toyota Motor Corp. may expand their cooperation to include the joint development of a new addition to BMW's Mini range, a German auto magazine reported.

BMW is considering an entry-level car for Mini that would be called the Mini Minor, Autobild said. Toyota could launch its own version of the model, which may be badged as the Starlet, the report said. Automobile magazine also reported on the cooperation talksbetween the two companies.

A Mini spokesman declined to comment on the report, telling Automotive News Europe that it was "mere speculation."

If built, the Minor is expected to be smaller and less expensive than Mini's core model, the three-door hatchback. Based on the Mini Rocketman concept unveiled at the 2011 Geneva auto show, the Minor will be 11-feet, 4-inches long, which is 14.5 inches shorter than the three-door hatch.

With a sticker price of about 13,500 euros ($15,300), the Minor would undercut the three-door Mini hatch by nearly 4,000 euros ($4,500).

It's unclear if the model would be brought to the U.S.

The Mini Minor’s name would revive a moniker first given to the early versions of the car built by the UK brand Morris in the early 1960s.

BMW is expected to add an electric version of the Mini Minor after the first conventionally powered models arrive in 2018 or 2019, the report said.

Mini is shaking up its lineup as it seeks to make the brand profitable. While the Minor would be an addition to the portfolio Mini is likely to discontinue three weak-selling models: the Coupe, Roadster and Paceman.

BMW and Toyota formed an alliance in 2011 to cooperate on diesel engines and have since expanded the collaboration to include fuel cell and battery cell technology, lightweight materials as well as the joint development of an architecture and components for a sports car.

David Jolley

REPORT HERE