Carl F. W. Borgward: The Pioneer of the Modern Automobile Was Born 125 Years Ago

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STUTTGART, Germany, Nov. 10, 2015 /PRNewswire=KYODO JBN/ --

     Carl F. W. Borgward (10 November 1890 - 28 July 1963) showed that building

cars was in his blood when he was just a small boy. Back then, he liked to send

a toy car that he had built himself on drives across the coffee table,

destroying many of his parents' coffee cups in the process. Automobiles were

Borgward's great passion throughout his entire life, which he began as the son

of a coal merchant in Hamburg. Whereas others occupy only a marginal place in

automobile history, Borgward helped write some of its most important chapters.

He consistently focused on two things: building modern vehicles that offered

optimal customer utility, and maintaining his independence.

     (Photo: http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20151110/285662 )

    Borgward was a very ambitious and determined individual: After completing

an apprenticeship as a metal worker, he studied at the Mechanical Engineering

Academy in Hamburg. He began earning money quite early as a designer and went

to work in 1916 for a company that produced lifting gas for airships. This was

Borgward's first encounter with the aviation industry, whose design methods he

later applied to automobile construction. Just eight years later, he made his

dream come true when he presented his first automobile,  the Blitzkarren, which

was a three-wheel transport vehicle. The Blitzkarren offered the first example

of Borgward's talent for recognising customer requirements, as the model from

the "Bremer Kuehlerfabrik Carl F. W. Borgward & Co" was exactly the type of

affordable transport vehicle that many craftsmen and produce merchants were

looking for. In 1931, the Goliath Pionier was launched. This was Borgward's

first passenger car and it also had three wheels. One didn't need a driving

license to operate the vehicle, which also was not subject to vehicle tax. The

Goliath Pionier would become the second top seller produced by the Bremen-based

automaker. That same year, the ambitious automotive industry manager that

Borgward had now become took over the troubled Hansa-Lloyd-Werke, including

that company's lorry production operations at plants in Varel and

Bremen-Hastedt. Borgward's company had thus advanced from a low-volume producer

to an industrial-scale manufacturer of vehicles.

    The Hansa 1100 and 1700 offered an initial demonstration of Borgward's

pioneering design skills - and the two models were also well received by the

public. The Second World War then left Borgward's factories in ruins. In 1946,

Borgward was released from a U.S. Army POW camp. However, he was not allowed to

return to any of his factories until 1948. So, at the age of 58 (and this was

also typical of this go-getter from northern Germany), Borgward began

rebuilding his automobile empire with incredible energy - and without any

government assistance. He also remained true to his entrepreneurial principles.

He resumed his business operations without any outside capital or bank loans

and quickly presented the first all-new post-war car in Germany: The Hansa 1500

was an upper mid-range saloon that caused a sensation in 1949. The Hanomag

Kommissbrot and the American Kaiser-Frazer cars had inspired Borgward to create

a body design that would soon conquer the post-war world: the pontoon shape.

Borgward's idea was so good that all renowned German automakers simply had to

follow it. The Hansa 1500 was just the first pioneering milestone in the

evolution of BORGWARD, throughout the course of which the Bremen-based

automaker would incorporate into production vehicles technical innovations such

as direction indicators, the automatic transmission, direct fuel injection and

aerodynamic efficiency.

    Below the Hansa 1500, BORGWARD also offered "motorcycle drivers who enjoyed

having a roof over their heads" the ingeniously simple Lloyd, which quickly

advanced to become the second top-seller in the company's post-war programme.

In 1954, the Lloyd was third on the list of new vehicle registrations in

Germany. Here as well, Carl F.W. Borgward had accurately identified the needs

of customers in the post-war era. In that same year, the ultimate styling icon

from the house of BORGWARD - the Isabella - succeeded the Hansa 1500 and

expanded the market position in the upper mid-range segment for the company

with the distinctive diamond badge.

    By 1959, these lucrative top-selling vehicles had enabled BORGWARD to

develop into a full-range automaker. The company's extensive model programme,

which ranged from the small modern Lloyd to efficient five-tonne vehicles

(available with optional all-wheel drive), ensured it could satisfy any

customer requirement. The BORGWARD-Werke now employed 20,000 people and

BORGWARD was the largest industrial company and corporate taxpayer in Bremen.

    Beginning in 1960, U.S. compact cars began pushing European imports out of

the American market, and this led to an initial decline in European car

exports. BORGWARD had to face this challenge without the support of a principal

bank and soon began experiencing short-term liquidity problems. The Bremen

Senate (city parliament) issued a loan to the company, but the city's

counter-productive crisis management approach only served to worsen the

economic situation at BORGWARD, and eventually Carl F. W. Borgward was forced

out of the company. In the summer of 1961, BORGWARD was forced into liquidation

due to insolvency, a turn of events that most certainly could have been

avoided, since the company was able to pay back all of its creditors just a

short time later. Carl F. W. Borgward himself contributed to these payments by

selling off his various companies including their property. He died on 28 July

1963, just a few months before his 73rd birthday. Perhaps the fact that he was

no longer able to build automobiles had something to do with his death.

    The automotive legacy of Carl F. W. Borgward has never been forgotten, not

even to this day. He will always be remembered for quickly introducing

innovations into production vehicles while constantly keeping in mind the

requirements of his customers, and for driving the development of the modern

automobile at great speed and with huge dedication - achievements also made

possible by his ability to maintain his independence. Also the newly

established BORGWARD Group AG has pledged to build and market cars that carry

on the innovative tradition of Carl F. W. Borgward.

    - Cross reference: Picture is available at AP Images

(http://www.apimages.com) and http://www.presseportal.de/nr/115998/bild / -

     Further information

     BORGWARD Group AG

     Kriegsbergstrasse 11

     70174 Stuttgart, Germany

     Marco Dalan

     Head of Global Communications

     +49-711-7941851000

     E-mail media@borgward.com

     http://www.borgward.com  

Source: BORGWARD Group AG