BMW was established as a

business entity following a restructuring of

the Rapp Motorenwerke aircraft manufacturing
firm in 1917. After the end of World War I in
1918, BMW was forced to cease aircraft-engine
production by the terms of the Versailles
Armistice Treaty.[5] The company consequently
shifted to motorcycle production as the
restrictions of the treaty started to be lifted in
1923,[6] followed by automobiles in 192829.[7][8][9]
The first car which BMW successfully produced
and the car which launched BMW on the road to
automobile production was the Dixi, based on
the Austin 7 and licensed from the Austin Motor
Company in Birmingham, England.
BMW's first significant aircraft engine, and
commercial product of any sort, was the BMW
IIIa inline-six liquid-cooled engine of 1918,
known for good fuel economy and high-altitude
performance.[10] With German rearmament in the
1930s, the company again began producing
aircraft engines for the Luftwaffe. The factory in
Munich made ample use of forced labour:
foreign civilians, prisoners of war and inmates of
the concentration camp Dachau [1]. Among its
successful World War II engine designs were
the BMW 132 and BMW 801 air-cooled radial

engines, and the pioneering BMW 003 axialflow turbojet, which powered the tiny, 1944
1945era jet-powered "emergency fighter",
theHeinkel He 162 Spatz. The BMW 003 jet
engine was first tested as a prime power plant in
the first prototype of the Messerschmitt Me 262,
the Me 262 V1, but in 1942 tests the BMW
prototype engines failed on takeoff with only the
standby Junkers Jumo 210 nose-mounted piston
engine powering it to a safe landing.[11][12] The
few Me 262 A-1b test examples built used the
more developed version of the 003 jet, recording
an official top speed of 800 km/h (497 mph). The
first-ever four-engine jet aircraft ever flown were
the sixth and eighth prototypes of the Arado Ar
234 jet reconnaissance-bomber, which used
BMW 003 jets for power. Through 1944 the
003's reliability improved, making it a suitable
power plant for air frame designs competing for
the Jgernotprogramm's light fighter production
contract. which was won by the Heinkel He
162 Spatz design. The BMW 003 aviation
turbojet was also under consideration as the
basic starting point for a
pioneering turboshaft powerplant for German
armored fighting vehicles in 194445, as the GT
101.[13] Towards the end of the Third Reich,
BMW developed some military aircraft projects

for the Luftwaffe, the BMW Strahlbomber, the

BMW Schnellbomber and the BMW Strahljger,
but none of them were built.[14][15]
[more detail]

By the year 1958, the automotive division of

BMW was in financial difficulties and a
shareholders meeting was held to decide
whether to go into liquidation or find an
alternative. It was decided to carry on by trying
to cash in on the current economy car boom
exploited so successfully by German ex-aircraft
manufacturers such asMesserschmitt and Heinkel.
BMW bought the rights to manufacture the Italian Iso
Isetta. BMW's version of the tiny cars were to be
powered by a modified form of BMW's motorcycle
engine. This was moderately successful and helped
the company get back on its feet.
Since 1959, the controlling majority shareholder of the
BMW Aktiengesellschaft has been the Quandt family,
which owns about 46% of the stock. The rest is
in public float.
BMW acquired the Hans Glas company based
in Dingolfing, Germany, in 1966. Glas vehicles were
briefly badged as BMW until the company was fully
absorbed. It was reputed that the acquisition was
mainly to gain access to Glas' development of the
timing belt with an overhead camshaft in automotive
applications,[16] although some saw Glas' Dingolfing
plant as another incentive. However, this factory was

outmoded and BMW's biggest immediate gain was,

according to themselves, a stock of highly qualified
engineers and other personnel.[17] The Glas factories
continued to build a limited number of their existing
models, while adding the manufacture of BMW front
and rear axles until they could be closer incorporated
into BMW.[18]

BMW 3-Series (F30)

In 1992, BMW acquired a large stake in California
based industrial design studio DesignworksUSA,
which they fully acquired in 1995. In 1994, BMW
bought the British Rover Group[19] (which at the time
consisted of the Rover, Land Rover and MG brands
as well as the rights to defunct brands
including Austin and Morris), and owned it for six
years. By 2000, Rover was incurring huge losses and
BMW decided to sell the combine. The MG and Rover
brands were sold to the Phoenix Consortium to
form MG Rover, while Land Rover was taken over
by Ford. BMW, meanwhile, retained the rights to build
the new Mini, which was launched in 2001.
Chief designer Chris Bangle announced his departure
from BMW in February 2009, after serving on the
design team for nearly seventeen years.[20] He was
replaced by Adrian van Hooydonk, Bangle's former
right-hand man. Bangle was known for his radical

designs such as the 2002 7-Series and the 2002 Z4.

In July 2007, the production rights forHusqvarna
Motorcycles was purchased by BMW for a reported
93 million euros. BMW Motorrad plans to continue
operating Husqvarna Motorcycles as a separate
enterprise. All development, sales and production
activities, as well as the current workforce, have
remained in place at its present location at Varese.
In June 2012, BMW was listed as the #1 most
reputable company in the world by Forbes.com.
[21]
Rankings are based upon aspects such as
"people's willingness to buy, recommend, work for,
and invest in a company is driven 60% by their
perceptions of the company and only 40% by their
perceptions of their products."