Otto Explains — Brand History
The History of BMW
Short Answer
BMW dates its founding to 7 March 1916, when the aircraft maker Bayerische Flugzeugwerke (BFW) was set up; the Bayerische Motoren Werke name followed in 1917 and passed to BFW in 1922. BMW built motorcycles from 1923 and cars from 1928, became an armaments maker that used forced labour under National Socialism, and after the war grew into a group that also owns MINI and Rolls-Royce.
Where did BMW begin?
BMW grew out of two aviation businesses, and BMW Group Classic names their founders, Karl Rapp and Gustav Otto, as the people with whom its history begins. Gustav Otto ran an aircraft maker, Flugmaschinenfabrik Gustav Otto; Karl Rapp ran an aero-engine maker, Rapp Motorenwerke. In 1916, at the government’s request, Otto’s firm was reorganised and renamed Bayerische Flugzeugwerke (BFW), and BMW counts the founding of BFW on 7 March 1916 as its official founding date. In 1917 Rapp Motorenwerke was renamed Bayerische Motoren Werke (Bavarian Motor Works), and since then every BMW product has carried the blue-and-white logo.
How did the two companies become one BMW?
For a few years the BMW name belonged to the engine company, not to BFW. Bayerische Motoren Werke became a public limited company, BMW AG, in 1918. After the First World War, when it was no longer allowed to build aero engines, it switched to railway brakes and inboard engines, and in 1920 it was sold to Knorr-Bremse AG. The financier Camillo Castiglioni then bought the BMW name and logo, together with the engine production and its workforce, and brought them into BFW, and in 1922 BMW AG transferred its name, assets and engine operations to BFW. The business moved to BFW’s plant in Munich’s Oberwiesenfeld district, which is still home to BMW’s main plant and headquarters. That is why BMW dates itself from BFW in 1916, even though the BMW name itself dates from 1917.
When did BMW start building motorcycles and cars?
BMW’s first motorcycle, the R 32 designed by Max Friz, was presented at the 1923 Berlin Motor Show. Car production began in 1928, when BMW took over the vehicle factory Fahrzeugfabrik Eisenach, and BMW’s own car models followed in 1932.
What did BMW do under National Socialism?
After 1933 BMW became a major part of the German arms industry, and aero engines brought in most of its revenue; that year aero-engine production was moved into a subsidiary, BMW Flugmotorenbau GmbH. New aero-engine plants were built with state money at München-Allach in 1936 and Eisenach-Dürrerhof in 1937, and in 1941 the government ordered car production to stop. As the war went on, BMW relied on forced labour: Polish prisoners of war at Eisenach from late 1939, prisoners held by the SS from 1941 and concentration camp prisoners from 1942, with satellite camps at Allach and Dürrerhof. By the end of 1944 about 29,000 forced labourers worked for BMW, more than half its workforce. BMW’s own history describes insufficient food and poor accommodation, and violence and particularly high mortality among “eastern workers” and camp prisoners.
How has BMW dealt with that history?
BMW says it was long in denial about its role. It began addressing its use of forced labour in the early 1980s, and in the late 1990s it was a founding member of the “Remembrance, Responsibility, Future” foundation initiative, which has paid compensation to forced labourers. Since June 2020 the BMW Museum in Munich has had a Place of Remembrance on forced labour and BMW’s role as an armaments maker.
How did BMW restart after the war?
BMW restarted with motorcycles: the R 24 was unveiled in March 1948. Its first post-war car, the BMW 501, was unveiled in 1951 and built from 1952. In late 1959 Daimler-Benz offered to take BMW over. Shareholders and employees rejected the offer at the annual general meeting on 9 December 1959, and Herbert Quandt increased his shareholding. The BMW 1500, shown at the 1961 Frankfurt Motor Show, became the company’s breakthrough, and the 5 Series (1972) and 7 Series (1977) followed, with the three-digit model names BMW still uses.
How did BMW become a group of brands?
BMW Motorsport GmbH, founded in 1972, became today’s BMW M GmbH, the home of BMW’s high-performance models. In 1994 BMW decided to acquire Britain’s Rover Group; when it sold Rover in 2000 it kept the MINI brand and launched the new MINI in 2001. In 1998 it acquired the Rolls-Royce motor car brand and naming rights, and in 2003 it took over brand responsibility for Rolls-Royce Motor Cars.
Where is BMW heading now?
The BMW i3 of 2013 was the group’s first series-produced fully electric car, and the iX3 of 2020 was BMW’s first fully electric X model. In September 2025 BMW introduced the new iX3 as the first model of its Neue Klasse, which it describes as a new chapter in its history. The company marked its centenary in 2016.
Common Questions
- What does BMW stand for? Bayerische Motoren Werke, or Bavarian Motor Works. The name dates from 1917, when the aero-engine maker Rapp Motorenwerke was renamed.
- Was BMW founded in 1916 or 1917? BMW gives 7 March 1916, when Bayerische Flugzeugwerke was founded, as its official founding date. The name Bayerische Motoren Werke dates from 1917, and in 1922 the BMW name and engine business passed to BFW, which is why both years appear in BMW’s story.
- Did BMW use forced labour in the Second World War? Yes. BMW’s own history says that by the end of 1944 about 29,000 forced labourers, including prisoners of war and concentration camp prisoners, worked for the company, more than half its workforce.
- Is MINI part of BMW? Yes. BMW kept the MINI brand when it sold the Rover Group in 2000, and launched the new MINI in 2001.
- Who owns Rolls-Royce Motor Cars? The BMW Group. It acquired the Rolls-Royce motor car brand and naming rights in 1998 and took over brand responsibility in 2003.