Bayerische Motoren Werke GmbH is known as BMW. In 1917, the Munich company Rapp-Motorenwerke was transformed into BMW. Before being refounded as BMW AG in 1922, the firm was incorporated as Knorr-Bremse AG in 1920. It was the successor to the 1916-founded Bayerische Flugzeugwerke AG.
What Does BMW’s Initial Capitalization Mean?
A: BMW, or Bavarian Motor Works in English, stands for Bayerische Motoren Werke. If your knowledge of geography is lacking, Bavaria is a southern German state where BMW first began producing aviation engines in 1917. BMW, Mini, and Rolls-Royce currently make up the BMW group, which has its corporate headquarters in Munich, the capital of Bavaria.
If Bavarian Motor Works is too formal for you, the German automaker’s high-end models are more commonly referred to as Bimmer. The business also considers itself to be “the ultimate driving machine,” at least in accordance with its long-running American advertising campaign.
From the official bio of the business: “Since 1975, BMW of North America, LLC has operated in the US. In 2003, Rolls-Royce Motor Cars NA, LLC started selling cars. The BMW Group has expanded its operations in the United States to include marketing, sales, and financial service companies for the BMW brand of motor vehicles, including motorcycles, the MINI brand, and the Rolls-Royce brand of motor cars; Designworks, a strategic design consultancy with headquarters in California; technology offices in Silicon Valley, Chicago, and various other operations across the nation. All X5 and X3 Sports Activity Vehicles, as well as the X6 and X4 Sports Activity Coupes, are produced at BMW Production Co., LLC in South Carolina. This facility is a component of the BMW Group’s global manufacturing network. The 344 BMW passenger car and BMW Sports Activity Vehicle centers, 153 BMW motorcycle retailers, 127 MINI passenger car dealers, and 36 Rolls-Royce Motor Car dealers are the networks through which the BMW Group sales organization is represented in the United States. The North American sales headquarters for the BMW Group is situated in Woodcliff Lake, New Jersey, under the name BMW (US) Holding Corp.”
Learn what “BMW” means and why the company’s badge is blue and white.
Throughout its history, the BMW nameplate has been linked to a variety of performance, executive, and luxury cars. What does BMW stand for, though? Here, our comprehensive explanation explains the meaning of the BMW name and the history of the company.
The word BMW is an abbreviation that stands for Bayerische Motoren Werke, which, when translated into English, means “Bavarian Motor Works,” like the names of many automobile manufacturers.
The Rapp-Motorenwerke firm, a maker of aircraft engines established in 1913, is where the BMW brand was first established in the German state of Bavaria. Rapp provided the German aviation force with engines during World War I, a time before vehicles were widely used.
BMW started making motorcycles in 1923, and in 1928 the business shifted its focus to making cars. This change came after BMW purchased the Automobilwerk Eisenach vehicle manufacturer and started producing the BMW 3/15, a clone of the British Austin 7.
After the Second World War, due to government-enforced manufacturing restrictions, BMW’s production was restricted for a number of years to basic goods like home appliances. During the Second World War, BMW once again rose to prominence as a significant aircraft engine producer.
The 501 was BMW’s first automobile following the war. It was a luxurious saloon with room for up to six passengers and a six-cylinder engine. Although many consider it to be the start of BMW’s current road car saga, sales of the 501 were modest because it was pricey at a time when there weren’t many wealthy people who could afford one.
The company was on the verge of going out of business, and in 1959, Daimler-Benz came very near to buying out BMW, which would have completely altered the course of automotive history. Instead, Herbert and Harald Quandt invested heavily in BMW because they were confident that the rear-engined BMW 700 model would be a hit.
For many, BMW’s ‘Neue Klasse’ (New Class) debut in 1962 marked the start of the company’s journey toward becoming a renowned saloon-car manufacturer. It featured remarkable handling and was the first BMW with the “Hofmeister kink,” a rear window pillar design that has since become a mainstay of practically all modern BMWs. It also had independent front and rear suspension and front disc brakes. The period that followed saw the introduction of the well-known BMW “ultimate driving machine” slogan. The expression was first used as part of an advertising campaign in the 1970s and has since become synonymous with the brand name BMW.