If you've ever look into buying a set of aftermarket wheels for your car, you've probably come across BBS Wheels, AKA the German brand that makes those dished mesh wheels that Europe loves so much.
While BMW E30 and Volkswagen Golf owners may be the main audience for BBS products these days, there was a time when BBS ruled both the motorsport and tuning wheel world, but those days are long gone.
It turns out that BBS has been struggling for quite some time now, with records showing the German company filing for bankruptcy four times over the past 20 years, with the most recent being in 2015.
In the filing document, BBS blames falling demand in the tuning segment and retail difficulties that were brought on thanks to the Covid-19 pandemic. It was also noted that wheel production was halted during the lockdown.
Just like America's Chapter 11 bankruptcy, this doesn't mean that BBS is closing down, but instead allows the company to restructure the business.
“Media reports might have already spread the word that BBS GmbH was forced to file for insolvency at the district court in Rottweil at the beginning of this week,” the company said in a statement. “This was a necessary step to prevent an imminent insolvency within the coming months due to the sudden omission of confirmed payments.”
At this stage, it's hard to tell what BBS plans to do with its current obligations with the company saying “the supply of all our OE and AM customers with BBS wheels is secured”.
Also, BBS' contract with NASCAR states that the company has to supply centre-lock wheels for the next generation of cars to be used in upcoming seasons.