New Rumors of BMW Reviving Triumph Brand

BMW acquired the rights to the Triumph brand when it bought Rover in 1994. It sold off parts of the company in 2000 but kept the rights to Mini and other parts of the old Rover empire - including the rights to Triumph. There have been rumors in the past that BMW might revive the Triumph brand as an inexpensive sports car maker. The rumors have been renewed recently when BMW applied for a trademark on the Triumph logo with laurel wreath background. The trademark allows BMW to use the logo on vehicles, leather goods, books, clothing and other items. 

The problem with starting Triumph as a new brand is two-fold for BMW. First, it is attempting now to launch the i-series of electric cars as a BMW sub-brand. Launching a second, new brand could be too much for the company. Second, building Triumph as a brand would involve building another dealer network like it did with Mini, which is very expensive and time consuming. 

It is possible that BMW made this trademark filing for Triumph just to reaffirm its ownership of the brand, which is necessary from time to time. 

Regardless, it is fun to think about the revival of Triumph with a bunch of small, rear-wheel drive convertibles like the original Lotus Elise. What would you wish to see from a new Triumph brand? Who would it compete with?

Source: Autocar