Business & Money | Wednesday 19 July, 2017 9:56 am |

BORGWARD Group AG, the global automotive manufacturer, has unveiled details of its new production facility in Germany that, in the future, will supply automobiles to key global markets including the Middle East.

 

The homecoming of the brand marks its rebirth guided by the BGW strategy - BORGWARD brand, German engineering and worldwide footprint. With the superior products of German design, BORGWARD is dedicated to integrating top global resources to meet the needs of consumers across the world.

 

BORGWARD has signed a memorandum of understanding last October with the Bremen Government located in Germany to acquire a 140,000-square-meter site in the Industry Centre in the western part of Bremen. Construction of the facility will start by early 2018, and production is scheduled to begin in 2019.

 

During the first stage, BORGWARD plans to build an assembly facility to produce up to 50,000 vehicles per year, the models assembled in the plant will include electric, plug-in-hybrid vehicles and other BORGWARD high-end versions which are expected to be sold across Europe and globally. The objective is to ensure that the assembly facility can be changed into a full-scale production plant if demand for the vehicles requires.

 

Functioning as the heart of the brand’s Global EV automobile manufacturing themed on Industry 4.0, high-tech and green energy, BORGWARD’s Bremen facility will be equipped with a manufacturing centre, a brand experience centre, a delivery centre and a media centre, where the customers will also be able to enjoy experiences such as test drive and VIP delivery service.

 

"By taking this step, we are demonstrating our commitment to expand from Germany to the global market," said Ulrich Walker, CEO of BORGWARD Group AG. “We are continuing to write the history of BORGWARD and are excited that the production facility in Bremen will become our worldwide competence centre for electric mobility.”

 

Martin Günthner, Minister of Economic Affairs, Labour and Ports of Bremen, had this to say about the decision: “We look forward to the early completion of the new facility. As the hometown of the brand, Bremen connects the glorious history of BORGWARD, its good logistics connection to an international port, outstanding infrastructure and production supply chain, the availability of skilled workers especially auto specialty talents, all contribute to BORGWARD’s intelligent manufacturing and its global sales.”

 

While the Middle East customers are expected to experience the luxury and excitement of the BX5 and BX7 later in this year, other top models in the future Bremen plant will also be supplied to the Middle East market.

 

Industry 4.0 to serve as the guidepost for the new production facility

 

The technological systems of the manufacturing facility, the processes, and the equipment at BORGWARD’s Bremen location will be based on Industry 4.0 standards (Industry 4.0 is the trend of automation and data exchange in manufacturing technologies. It includes cyber-physical systems, the Internet of things and cloud computing). The facility's layout will be focused on the smart factory. The planned production process will be extremely efficient and able to handle the increasing complexity in automotive manufacturing.

 

The Bremen facility, together with BORGWARD’s other plants, will focus on the upgrading of intelligent manufacturing and construct a high-standard system featuring remarkable production technology, quality management, environmental compatibility and logistics that conform to the concept of Industry 4.0. The close partnership with top global car-parts suppliers like Bosch, Continental, KUKA, Schäffler/SKF, BorgWarner, Webasto and LG, will also unceasingly contribute to the innovation of BORGWARD’s high-quality vehicles rooted in German heritage, which will also benefit the Middle East car drivers.