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Bayerische Motoren Werke AG

BMW Headquarters in Munich, Germany

Formerly Rapp Moterenwerke AG

Company type Public (Aktiengesellschaft)

Traded as  FWB: BMW

 DAX component

Industry Automotive

Predecessors  Otto Flugmaschinenfabrik

 Rapp Motorenwerke
 Fahrzeugfabrik Eisenach

Founded 27 October 1913; 111 years ago (as Rapp

Motorenwerke)
March 7, 1916; 108 years ago (as BMW)

Founder Karl Rapp

Headquarters Munich
,
Germany
Area served Worldwide
Key people  Oliver Zipse (Chairman of
management board)
 Norbert Reithofer (Chairman of
supervisory board)

Products  Cars
 motorcycles
 bicycles
Production  2,661,922 cars (2023)
output  221,988 motorcycles (2023)[1]

Brands  Automobiles
 Alpina
 BMW (i, M, X, Z)
 DriveNow
 Mini
 Rolls-Royce
 Motorcycles
 BMW Motorrad
 Services Car-sharing services, financing, leasing,
insurance and other financial services

Revenue €155.50 billion (2023)[1]

Operating €17.096 billion (2023)[1]

income
Net income €12.165 billion (2023)[1]

Total assets €250.89 billion (2023)[1]

Total equity €92.923 billion (2023)[1]

Owners  Stefan Quandt (25.8%)

 Susanne Klatten (20.9%)[2]
Number of 154,950 (2023)[1]
employees

Website  bmw.com (brand)

 bmwgroup.com (corporate)
The BMW Group (legally, Bayerische Motoren Werke AG, commonly abbreviated
to BMW (German pronunciation: [ˌbeːʔɛmˈveː] ⓘ), sometimes anglicized as Bavarian Motor
Works), is a German multinational manufacturer of luxury
vehicles and motorcycles headquartered in Munich, Bavaria, Germany. The company
was founded in 1916 as a manufacturer of aircraft engines, which it produced from 1917
to 1918 and again from 1933 to 1945 creating engines for aircraft that were used in
the Second World War.
The companies automobiles are marketed under the BMW, Mini and Rolls-
Royce brands, and motorcycles are marketed under the BMW Motorrad brand. Also in
2023, BMW was the world's ninth-largest producer of motor vehicles, with 2,555,341
vehicles produced[3] and in 2023 the 6th largest by revenue.[4] In 2023, the company was
ranked 46th in the Forbes Global 2000.[5] The company has significant motor-sport
history, especially in touring cars, sports cars, and the Isle of Man TT.

BMW is headquartered in Munich and produces motor vehicles in Germany, the United
Kingdom, the Netherlands (ceased in 2023),[6] the United States, Brazil, Mexico, South
Africa, India and China. The Quandt family [de] is a long-term shareholder of the
company, following investments by the brothers Herbert and Harald Quandt in 1959 that
saved BMW from bankruptcy, with the remaining shares owned by the public.

History
[edit]
Main article: History of BMW
The Otto Flugmaschinenfabrik was founded in 1910 by Gustav Otto in the Kingdom of
Bavaria, which was a state of the German Empire. The firm was reorganized on 7
March 1916 into Bayerische Flugzeugwerke AG. This company was then renamed
to Bayerische Motoren Werke (BMW) in 1922. However, the name BMW dates back to
1913, when a company to use the name was founded by Karl Rapp initially as Rapp
Motorenwerke. The name and Rapp Motorenwerke's engine-production assets were
transferred to Bayerische Flugzeugwerke in 1922, who adopted the name the same
year.[7] BMW's first product was produced for fighter aircraft of the Luftstreitkräfte. It was
a straight-six aircraft engine called the BMW IIIa, designed in the spring of 1917 by
engineer Max Friz. Following the end of World War I, BMW remained in business by
producing motorcycle engines, agricultural equipment, household items, and railway
brakes. The company produced its first motorcycle, the BMW R 32, in 1923.

BMW became an automobile manufacturer in 1928 when it purchased Fahrzeugfabrik

Eisenach, which, at the time, built the Austin 7 under licence from Dixi.[8] The first car
sold as a BMW was a rebadged BMW Dixi called the BMW 3/15, following BMW's
acquisition of the car manufacturer Automobilwerk Eisenach. Throughout the 1930s,
BMW expanded its range into sports cars and larger luxury cars.

Aircraft engines, motorcycles, and automobiles would be BMW's main products until
World War II. During the war, BMW concentrated on the BMW 801 aircraft engine using
as many as 40,000 slave laborers.[9] These consisted primarily of prisoners from Nazi
concentration camps, most prominently Dachau. Motorcycles remained as a side-line
and automobile manufacture ceased altogether.

BMW's factories were heavily bombed during the war and its remaining West German
facilities were banned from producing motor vehicles or aircraft after the war. Again, the
company survived by making pots, pans, and bicycles. In 1948, BMW restarted
motorcycle production. BMW resumed car production in Bavaria in 1952 with the BMW
501 luxury saloon. The range of cars was expanded in 1955, through the production of
the cheaper Isetta microcar under licence. Slow sales of luxury cars and small profit
margins from microcars, meant BMW was in serious financial trouble and in 1959 the
company was nearly taken over by rival Daimler-Benz.[citation needed]

A large investment in BMW by Herbert Quandt and Harald Quandt resulted in the
company surviving as a separate entity. Günther Quandt, was a well-known German
industrialist, joined the Nazi party in 1933 and made a fortune arming the German
Wehrmacht, manufacturing weapons and batteries.[10] Many of his enterprises were
appropriated from Jewish owners under duress with minimal compensation. At least
three of his enterprises made extensive use of slave laborers, as many as 50,000 in all.
[11]
One of his battery factories had its own on-site concentration camp, complete with
gallows. Life expectancy for laborers was six months.[11][12] While Quandt and BMW were
not directly connected during the war, funds amassed in the Nazi era by his father
allowed Herbert Quandt to buy BMW.[9]

The relative success of the small BMW 700 assisted in the company's recovery,
allowing them to develop the New Class sedans.
 1972 BMW 5 Series (1st generation)
The 1962 introduction of the BMW New Class compact sedans was the beginning of
BMW's reputation as a leading manufacturer of sport-oriented cars. Throughout the
1960s, BMW expanded its range by adding coupé and luxury sedan models. The BMW
5 Series mid-size sedan range was introduced in 1972, followed by the BMW 3
Series compact sedans in 1975, the BMW 6 Series luxury coupés in 1976 and the BMW
7 Series large luxury sedans in 1978.

The BMW M division released its first road car, a mid-engine supercar, in 1978. This
was followed by the BMW M5 in 1984 and the BMW M3 in 1986. Also in 1986, BMW
introduced its first V12 engine in the 750i luxury sedan. The 1989 BMW Z1 marked
BMW's return to making a two-seat roadster, the 1995 BMW Z3 was their first mass-
production two-seat roadster, and the 1999 BMW X5 was the company's first entry into
the SUV market.

The company purchased the Rover Group in 1994, but the takeover was not successful
and caused BMW large financial losses. In 2000, BMW sold off most of the Rover
brands, retaining only the Mini brand. In 1998, BMW also acquired the rights to the
Rolls-Royce brand from Vickers.

The first modern mass-produced turbocharged petrol engine was introduced in 2006
(from 1973 to 1975, BMW built 1,672 units of a turbocharged BMW M10 engine for
the BMW 02 Series),[13] with most engines switching over to turbocharging over the
2010s. The first hybrid BMW was the 2010 BMW ActiveHybrid 7, and BMW's first mass-
production electric car was the BMW i3 city car, which was released in 2013, (from 1968
to 1972, BMW built two battery-electric BMW 1602 Elektro saloons for the 1972 Olympic
Games).[14] After many years of establishing a reputation for sporting rear-wheel drive
cars, BMW's first front-wheel drive car was the 2014 BMW 2 Series Active Tourer multi-
purpose vehicle (MPV).

In March 2018, Daimler and BMW merged their mobility services.[15]

In August 2019, Oliver Zipse replaced Harald Krüger as the head of the BMW Group.[16]

21st century
[edit]
In January 2021, BMW announced that its sales in 2020 fell by 8.4 percent due to the
impact of COVID-19 pandemic restrictions. However, in the fourth quarter of 2020,
BMW witnessed a rise of 3.2% in its customers' demands.[17] This recovery was
supported by the company's adoption of widely accepted technologies and integration of
third-party services such as Apply Pay and on-demand music.[18]

On 18 January 2022 BMW announced a BMW 7 Series (G11) special edition simply
called "The Final V12",[19] the last BMW series production vehicle to be fitted with a V-12
engine.[19]

On 5 October 2023 it was announced that BMW UK CEO Chris Brownridge would
succeed Torsten Müller-Ötvös as the CEO of Rolls-Royce starting 1 December 2023, as
a result of Müller-Ötvös retiring.[20]

Branding
[edit]

BMW badge on a 1931 Dixi

Flag of Bavaria
 1970 BMW 2002ti Garmisch concept

Company name
[edit]
BMW is an abbreviation for Bayerische Motoren Werke. This name is grammatically
incorrect (in German, compound words must not contain spaces), which is why the
grammatically correct form of the name, Bayerische Motorenwerke (German
pronunciation: [ˈbaɪʁɪʃə moˈtoːʁənˌvɛʁkə] ⓘ) has been used in several publications and
advertisements in the past.[21][22] Bayerische Motorenwerke translates into English
as Bavarian Motor Works.[23] The suffix AG, short for Aktiengesellschaft, signifies an
incorporated entity owned by shareholders, thus akin to "Inc." (US) or PLC, "Public
Limited Company" (UK).
The terms Beemer, Bimmer and Bee-em are sometimes used as slang for BMW in the
English language[24][25] and are sometimes used interchangeably for cars and
motorcycles.[26][27][28]

Logo
[edit]
The circular blue and white BMW logo or roundel evolved from the circular Rapp
Motorenwerke company logo, which featured a black ring bearing the company name
surrounding the company logo,[29] an image of a horse head on a plinth. BMW retained
Rapp's black ring inscribed with the company name, but the interior of the ring is
quartered blue and white, reminiscent of the coat of arms and flag of Bavaria (which in
turn are based on the arms of the historic House of Wittelsbach, which ruled Bavaria for
many centuries).[29] The logo does not bear the distinctive lozenge shape found on the
coat of arms, however, as local laws at the time it was introduced forbade the use of
state coats of arms on commercial logos.[30]

A persistent myth claims that the logo is based on the image of an airplane propeller
spinning in a blue sky. This myth likely stems from a 1929 BMW advertisement that
depicted the logo superimposed on a rotating propeller. However, the logo predates that
advertisement by 12 years.[29][31]

The current iteration of the logo was introduced in 2020,[32] removing 3D effects that had
been used in previous renderings of the logo while removing the black outline encircling
the rondel. The logo is used for BMW's branding communications but it is not used on
vehicles.[33][34]
 

Logo used in vehicles since 1997

The logo on a BMW car

Logo used for publicity purposes since March 2020

Slogan
[edit]
The slogan 'The Ultimate Driving Machine' was first used in North America in 1974. [35]
[36]
In 2010, this long-lived campaign was mostly supplanted by a campaign intended to
make the brand more approachable and to better appeal to women, 'Joy'. By 2012
BMW had returned to 'The Ultimate Driving Machine'.[37]

Marks
[edit]
In 2023, the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO)’s Madrid Yearly Review
ranked BMW's number of marks applications filled under the Madrid System as 2nd in
the world, with 124 trademarks applications submitted during 2023.[38]

Corporate affairs
[edit]
Sales by region (2022)[39]

Region share

China 29.4%

Rest of Europe 25.3%

United States 20.2%

Germany 10.8%

Rest of Asia 9.0%

Rest of Americas 3.5%

Rest of the
2.0%
World

Sales by business unit (2022)[39]

Region share

Automotive 74.2%

Financial services 23.5%

Motorcycles 1.9%

The key trends of the BMW Group are (as at the financial year ending December 31): [40]
[41][42][43]

Number
Net
Revenue Total assets of Employees
Year income
(€ bn) (€ bn) sold cars (k)
(€ bn)
(m)[44]

2007 56.0 3.1 88.9 1.5 107

2008 53.1 0.32 101 1.4 100

2009 50.6 0.20 101 1.2 96.2

2010 60.4 3.2 108 1.4 95.4

2011 68.8 4.8 123 1.6 100

2012 76.8 5.0 131 1.8 105

2013 76.0 5.3 138 1.9 110

2014 80.4 5.7 154 2.1 116

2015 92.1 6.3 172 2.2 122

2016 94.1 6.8 188 2.3 124

2017 98.6 8.6 193 2.4 129

2018 97.4 7.1 208 2.4 134

2019 104 4.9 241 2.5 133

2020 98.9 3.7 216 2.3 120

2021 111 12.3 229 2.5 118

2022 142 17.9 246 2.3 146

2023 155 11.2 250 2.5 152

Motorcycles
[edit]
See also: BMW Motorrad and History of BMW motorcycles
 The R32 motorcycle, the first BMW motor vehicle, at

the BMW Museum in Munich The 2015 BMW R1200RT

BMW began production of motorcycle engines and then motorcycles after World War I.
[45]
Its motorcycle brand is now known as BMW Motorrad. Their first successful
motorcycle after the failed Helios and Flink, was the "R32" in 1923, though production
originally began in 1921.[46] This had a "boxer" twin engine, in which a cylinder projects
into the air-flow from each side of the machine. Apart from their single-cylinder models
(basically to the same pattern), all their motorcycles used this distinctive layout until the
early 1980s. Many BMW's are still produced in this layout, which is designated the R
Series.

The entire BMW Motorcycle production has, since 1969, been located at the company's
Berlin-Spandau factory.

During the Second World War, BMW produced the BMW R75 motorcycle with a motor-
driven sidecar attached, combined with a lockable differential, this made the vehicle
very capable off-road.[47][48]

In 1982, came the K Series, shaft drive but water-cooled and with either three or four
cylinders mounted in a straight line from front to back. Shortly after, BMW also started
making the chain-driven F and G series with single and parallel twin Rotax engines.

In the early 1990s, BMW updated the airhead Boxer engine which became known as
the oilhead. In 2002, the oilhead engine had two spark plugs per cylinder. In 2004 it
added a built-in balance shaft, an increased capacity to 1,170 cc (71 cu in) and
enhanced performance to 75 kW (101 hp) for the R1200GS, compared to 63 kW (84 hp)
of the previous R1150GS. More powerful variants of the oilhead engines are available in
the R1100S and R1200S, producing 73 and 91 kW (98 and 122 hp), respectively.

In 2004, BMW introduced the new K1200S Sports Bike which marked a departure for
BMW. It had an engine producing 125 kW (168 hp), derived from the company's work
with the Williams F1 team, and is lighter than previous K models. Innovations include
electronically adjustable front and rear suspension, and a Hossack-type front fork that
BMW calls Duolever.

BMW introduced anti-lock brakes on production motorcycles starting in the late 1980s.
The generation of anti-lock brakes available on the 2006 and later BMW motorcycles
paved the way for the introduction of electronic stability control, or anti-skid technology
later in the 2007 model year.

BMW has been an innovator in motorcycle suspension design, taking up telescopic front
suspension long before most other manufacturers. Then they switched to an Earles
fork, front suspension by swinging fork (1955 to 1969). Most modern BMWs are truly
rear swingarm, single sided at the back (compare with the regular swinging fork usually,
and wrongly, called swinging arm). Some BMWs started using yet another trademark
front suspension design, the Telelever, in the early 1990s. Like the Earles fork, the
Telelever significantly reduces dive under braking.[citation needed]

BMW Group, on 31 January 2013, announced that Pierer Industrie AG has

bought Husqvarna Motorcycles for an undisclosed amount, which will not be revealed
by either party in the future. The company is headed by Stephan Pierer (CEO of KTM).
Pierer Industrie AG is 51% owner of KTM and 100% owner of Husqvarna.

In September 2018, BMW unveiled a new self-driving motorcycle with BMW Motorrad
with a goal of using the technology to help improve road safety.[49] The design of
the bike was inspired by the company's BMW R1200 GS model.[50]

Automobiles
[edit]
Current models
[edit]
See also: List of BMW vehicles, Mini (marque), and Rolls-Royce Motor Cars
The current model lines of BMW cars are:

 1 Series five-door hatchbacks (model code F70).

 2 Series two-door coupes (model code G42), "Active Tourer" five-seat MPVs
(U06) and four-door "Gran Coupe" fastback sedans (model code F74).
 3 Series four-door sedans (model code G20), five-door station wagons (G21)
and long wheelbase model exclusive to China (G28).
 4 Series two-door coupes (model code G22), two-door convertibles (model
code G23) and five-door "Gran Coupe" fastbacks (model code G26).
 5 Series four-door sedans (model code G60), five-door station wagons (G61)
and long wheelbase model exclusive to China (G68).
 7 Series four-door sedans (model code G70).
 8 Series two-door coupes (model code G14), two-door convertibles (G15)
and "Gran Coupe" four-door fastback sedans (G16).
 

1 Series (F70)

2 Series Gran Coupé (F44)

2 Series (G42)
 

3 Series (G20)

4 Series (G22)

5 Series (G60)


 7 Series (G70)

8 Series (G15)
The current model lines of the X Series SUVs and crossovers are:

 X1 (U11)
 X2 (U10)
 X3 (G45)
 X4 (G02)
 X5 (G05)
 X6 (G06)
 X7 (G07)
 XM (G09)

X1 (U11)

X2 (U10)
 

X3 (G45)

X4 (G02)

X5 (G05)

X6 (G06)
 

X7 (G07)

XM (G09)
The current model line of the Z Series two-door roadsters is the Z4 (model code G29).

Z4 (G29)
i models
[edit]
Main article: BMW i
All-electric vehicles and plug-in hybrid vehicles are sold under the BMW i sub-brand.
The current model range consists of:

 i3 D-segment (compact) sedan, powered by one electric motor exclusive to

China
 i4 D-segment (compact) liftback, powered by one or two electric motors
 i5 E-segment (executive) sedan, powered by one or two electric motors
 i7 F-segment (full-size) sedan, powered by two electric motors
 iX1 C-segment (subcompact) SUV, powered by two electric motors
 iX2 C-segment (subcompact) SUV, powered by two electric motors
 iX3 D-segment (compact) SUV, powered by one electric motor
 iX E-segment (mid-size) SUV, powered by two electric motors

i3

i4

i5
 

i7

iX1

iX2

iX3
 

iX