BMW History

BMW or Bayerische Motoren Werke AG, is one of the largest and most well-known car makers in the world today. BMW is a manufacturer of engines, motorcycles and automobiles that can trace its origins back to 1916. Today, it owns MINI and Rolls-Royce Motor Cars, as well as the Husqvarna and BMW Mororrad motorcycle brands. BMW is best known for its high performance and luxury cars.

Karl Friedrich Rapp, an engineer, established Rapp Motoren Werke in 1913, in Munich, Bavaria. This company specialized in manufacturing aircraft engines. Meanwhile, another aircraft specialist, Gustav Otto, was setting up his own company, Gustav Flugmaschinefabrik, to build aircraft. The two companies merged in 1916 to form Bayersiche Flugzeungwerke. The name soon changed to Bayersiche Motoren Werke, which means Bavarian Motor Works. BMW produced its first aircraft engine in 1917.

The Treaty of Versailles forced BMW to stop production of aircraft engines after the end of the First World War. It began to manufacture air brakes for the railways instead. As the restrictions enforced by the treaty began to be lifted, BMW expanded its interests. It produced new aircraft engines from 1922. In 1923, the company shifted its focus towards motorcycle production. After 1928, it began to work on the manufacture of cars.

During the 1930s, German rearmament created a new demand for aircraft engines. BMW engines including the BMW 132, BMW 801 and BMW 003 were used during the Second World War. After the war, BMW fell into difficulties. Many of its factories had been destroyed or dismantled, and the company was subjected to a three year ban on production due to their wartime involvement in the manufacture of aircraft and rockets. The first car produced after the war was a luxury car, the 501, which did not generate much interest in the war-torn Europe of 1951.

In 1959, shareholders met to decide whether or not this division should be liquefied due to its financial problems. The Quandt family has been the majority shareholder in BMW since 1959, owning about 46 percent of the company. The shareholders elected to keep the division going in order to take advantage of the same boom in car sales that had benefited other manufacturers such as Heinkel and Messerschmitt, which had also previously been aircraft engine manufacturers. BMW acquired the rights to produce the Italian car, the Iso Isetta, with modified BMW motorcycle engines. They achieved enough success to keep the company afloat.

In 1956, the BMW 507 was introduced. It became one of the most famous BMW cars in history, although only 252 were produced. BMW continued to experience success, with the 1500 in 1962, the E12 in 1972, and on to the 7 series in 1977. The company began to manufacture aircraft engines again in 1990, after combining with Rolls-Royce to form Rolls-Royce GmbH. BMW bought the rights to the Rolls-Royce name in 1998, with the license switching to BMW in 2003.

By 1995, BMW had acquired the American based design firm DesignworksUSA. They had also purchased the British Rover Group, in 1994, acquiring the Land Rover, Rover and MG brands as well as ownership of the Morris and Austin brands. BMW sold the struggling Rover and MG brands in 2000, to the Phoenix Consortium, which created MG Rover. Land Rover was sold to Ford. BMW retained the rights to the new MINI, which it released in 2001. In 2007, BMW bought Husqvarna Motorcycles.

The modern BMW emblem bears the marks of BMW's history. It combines the circular logo of the Rapp Motorenwerke company, which formed the basis for BMW, with the blue and white colors of the Bavarian flag. The logo has also been compared to the propeller of an aircraft, matching BMW's association with engine production.

The history of BMW has been affected significantly by its role as an aircraft engine manufacturer, and, more recently, by its relations with other manufacturers such as Rolls-Royce. The TheOnceProject.net website contains useful information about the history of a number of other car manufacturers, many of which have also been influenced by war and by relationships with BMW.