BMW has come a long way since its inception as a manufacturer of aircraft engines for one of the most popular manufacturers of family, luxury and sports cars today.
The company began its activity in 1913 as the company Rapp-Motorenwerke, producing aircraft engines, before it was founded with the Bayerische Flugzeugwerke plant, located nearby on the outskirts of Munich in 1922. The letters BMW denote Bayerische Motoren Werke.
In the early years of its existence, BMW mainly produced aircraft engines and sometimes motorcycle engines. In fact, the BMW badge was designed to resemble an airplane propeller, and it was not until 1929 that the company became a car manufacturer after purchasing the Fahrzeugfabrik Eisenach factory, which produced Austin Sevens.
Developing the style of a car made over time, in 1936, BMW began producing the sports car 328, which continued to enjoy incredible success. In 1999, the BMW 328 was nominated as the car of the century.
During the three years preceding the Second World War, BMW produced aircraft engines, motorcycles and cars. During the war, the company focused on aircraft engines and generally ceased production of cars. In 1948, the production of motorcycles began again, but it was not until 1952 that BMW started building cars again. However, the launch of the BMW 501 luxury car was not a great success, and the company did not profit as a result, and therefore the company bought the design and production rights for the Isetta - a minibus that was cheap to produce - and began selling them.
Over the next decade, BMW's success changed, and in the 1960s thought about the success of the company. The BMW 1500, a four-cylinder sports car, was introduced in 1961, shortly after the BMW 2002, a two-door car that remained in production until 1976 and was the forerunner of the BMW 3 Series.
“BMW” continues to strengthen its reputation for creating original cars with a thoughtful design, since this decade began a series of 3, 5 and 7. Between 1970 and 1993, BMW increased its performance four times and the turnover to an incredible 1700%.
Between 1994 and 2000, BMW owned the British Rover Group, but the company did not succeed, and the company soon got rid of the Rover. However, BMW retained the rights to the Mini and enjoyed - and continues to enjoy - given the achievements in this business.
Today, BMW is considered an innovative manufacturer and has a reputation for excellent quality, both in design and in car quality.
