German brand Borgward to be revived with Chinese backing, report says

FRANKFURT -- German automaker Borgward is set to be revived with backing from a Chinese truck company, a media report said.

Christian Borgward, grandson of the company's founder, Carl F.W. Borgward, will outline plans for the brand's comeback on March 3 at the Geneva auto show.

"The relaunch of Borgward is a childhood’s dream of mine that is now becoming a reality," Christian Borgward said in a statement.

According to German auto magazine AutoBild, Chinese commercial truck maker Beiqi Foton - a joint venture partner of Daimler - is behind the plans to revive Borgward after securing the brand rights in March 2014.

A Borgward spokeswoman declined to comment on the report.

Between 1919 and 1961, Borgward built more than 1 million cars in its plant in the north German port city of Bremen, 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.

Together with his business partner Karlheinz Knoess, Christian Borgward has worked over the past 10 years to rebuild his grandfather's company.

AutoBild said the company planned to launch five new cars including small, compact and midsize models, with the first vehicle going on sale next year.

Relaunching old brands has had a mixed success. BMW successfully revived Mini in 2001, but Daimler flopped with its Maybach ultraluxury marque.