Wheel Manufacturer BBS Has Gone Bankrupt
2020 was supposed to be a year of celebration for BBS, with the German wheel manufacturer celebrating its 50th anniversary. Instead, BBS Kraftfahrzeugtechnik finds itself filing for insolvency.
In a press release (translated by Google), the company blamed the “sudden omission of confirmed payments,” adding that the “situation deteriorated further due to the Corona-lockdown which led to a temporary shutdown of the production at both BBS plants”.
Thomas Oberle and Marc-Philippe Hornung have been appointed as insolvency administrators. Both men are said to be experienced in this field, with Oberle having served as insolvency administrator for the company’s previous guise BBS International GmbH in 2011. That followed financial trouble for the firm back in 2007, making this latest development the third time BBS has gone bust.
Production is ongoing despite the latest financial woes for BBS, with the company pledging that wheel supply will be maintained. Even before this development, BBS said it had “already initiated an extensive turnaround strategy”.
BBS was founded in 1970, and named after its founders - Baumgartner, Brand, Schiltach. After initially manufacturing body panels, a three-piece wheel developed in 1972 changed the company’s course. Today, BBS remains one of the most recognisable names in the aftermarket wheel world while continuing to supply OEM rims to a huge variety of manufacturers.
The company concluded in its press release, “Times of change lie ahead but together we will release the energy and strength which will be needed to preserve the legendary BBS brand and secure its future.”
Growing up on a diet of World Rally Championship highlights and lengthy Gran Turismo 2 sessions, a life in cars was as good as inevitable for Matt.
Comments
This should be added to the long list of disasters that happened in 2020
ohno
Man, i hope they can pull trough
my all time favorite rim, loved the way they looked on my all time favorite bmw
For me BBS wheels were always classic in their design they did work for Porsche on their Group C cars and stuff and its sad to see a company like this just disappear they need to be saved!
To put it simply - BBS will not disappear even if it goes bankrupt.
It is a name with too much history of high quality products and is respected by anyone who has experience with auto products. Essentially this means that even if new owners buy the company, the name will stay as BBS, as that is one of the most valuable things the company has.
I love BBS but lets face it, their wheels were too expensive. Especially in an ever changing world where many manufacturers are making great wheel options from the factory. It gets a little crazy to ask the average person to pay over $1000 per wheel to put on their Golf gti. Yes they had more affordable options, but not the ones people actually wanted. Other companies like OZ, and ENkei give you much more bang for your buck, and theirs literarily tons of other great, more affordable options.
They do make some ugly wheel.