The Punjab University Gujranwala Campus

University Roll No’s: 22229, 22218, 22207, 22212

Department: Business & Administration
Class: BBA (Evening) Section (A)
Assignment No: 01
Subject: Introduction to Business
Course Code: BBA 104
Semester: 1st

Submitted to:
Mr. Muhammad Abdullah
 BMW
Introduction
This article is about the German motor vehicle manufacturer.

Bayerische Motoren Werke AG translates into English as (Bavarian Motor

Works). The suffix AG, short for Aktiengesellschaft, signifies an incorporated
entity which is owned by shareholders, thus akin to "Inc." (US) or PLC, "Public
Limited Company" (UK).Abbreviated as BMW is a German multinational
manufacturer of luxury vehicles and motorcycles headquartered
in Munich, Bavaria. The corporation was founded in 1916 as a manufacturer
of aircraft engines, which it produced from 1917 until 1918 and again from
1933 to 1945.
Automobiles are marketed under the brands BMW, Mini and Rolls-Royce, and
motorcycles are marketed under the brand BMW Motored. In 2017, BMW was
the world's fourteenth-largest producer of motor vehicles, with 2,279,503
vehicles produced. The company has significant motor-sport history, especially
in touring cars, sports cars, and the Isle of Man TT.
BMW is headquartered in Munich and produces motor vehicles in Germany,
Brazil, China, India, Mexico, the Netherlands, South Africa, the United
Kingdom, and the United States. The Quandt family is a long-term shareholder
of the company (with the remaining shares owned by public float), following
investments by the brothers Herbert and Harald Quandt in 1959 which saved the
company from bankruptcy.

History
Otto Flugmaschinenfabrik was founded in 1910 by Gustav Otto in Bavaria.
The firm was reorganized on 7 March 1916 into Bayerische Flugzeugwerke
AG. This company was then renamed to Bayerische Motoren Werke (BMW)
in 1922. However the name BMW dates back to 1913, when the original
company to use the name was founded by Karl Rapp (initially as Rapp
Motorenwerke GmbH). The name and Rapp Motorenwerke's engine-production
assets were transferred to Bayerische Flugzeugwerke in 1922, who adopted the
name the same year. BMW's first product was a straight-six aircraft engine
called the BMW IIIa, designed in the spring of 1917 by engineer Max Friz.
Following the end of World War I, BMW remained in business by producing
motorcycle engines, farm equipment, household items and railway brakes. The
company produced its first motorcycle, the BMW R 32 in 1923.
BMW became an automobile manufacturer in 1928 when it
purchased Fahrzeugfabrik Eisenach, which, at the time, built Austin
Sevens under licence under the Dixi marque. The first car sold as a BMW was a
rebadged Dixi called the BMW 3/15, following BMW's acquisition of the car
manufacturer Automobilwerk Eisenach. Throughout the 1930s, BMW expanded
its range into sports cars and larger luxury cars.
Aircraft engines, motorcycles, and automobiles would be BMW's main products
until World War II. During the war, BMW concentrated on aircraft engine
production using as many as 40,000 slave laborers. These consisted primarily of
prisoners from concentration camps, most prominently Dachau. Motorcycles
remained as a side-line and automobile manufacture ceased altogether.
BMW's factories were heavily bombed during the war and its remaining West
German facilities were banned from producing motor vehicles or aircraft after
the war. Again, the company survived by making pots, pans, and bicycles. In
1948, BMW restarted motorcycle production. BMW resumed car production in
Bavaria in 1952 with the BMW 501 luxury saloon. The range of cars was
expanded in 1955, through the production of the cheaper Isetta microcar under
licence. Slow sales of luxury cars and small profit margins from microcars
meant BMW was in serious financial trouble and in 1959 the company was
nearly taken over by rival Daimler-Benz.
A large investment in BMW by Herbert Quandt and Harald Quandt resulted in
the company surviving as a separate entity. The Quandts' father, Günther
Quandt, was a well-known German industrialist. Quandt joined the Nazi party
in 1933 and made a fortune arming the German Wehrmacht, manufacturing
weapons and batteries. Many of his enterprises were appropriated from Jewish
owners under duress with minimal compensation. At least three of his
enterprises made extensive use of slave laborers, as many as 50,000 in all. One
of his battery factories had its own on-site concentration camp, complete with
gallows. Life expectancy for laborers was six months. While Quandt and BMW
were not directly connected during the war, funds amassed in the Nazi era by
his father allowed Herbert Quandt to buy BMW.
The BMW 700 was successful and assisted in the company's recovery.
The 1962 introduction of the BMW New Class compact sedans was the
beginning of BMW's reputation as a leading manufacturer of sport-oriented
cars. Throughout the 1960s, BMW expanded its range by adding coupe and
luxury sedan models. The BMW 5 Series mid-size sedan range was introduced
in 1972, followed by the BMW 3 Series compact sedans in 1975, the BMW 6
Series luxury coupes in 1976 and the BMW 7 Series large luxury sedans in
1978.
The BMW M division released its first road car, a mid-engine supercar, in
1978. This was followed by the BMW M5 in 1984 and the BMW M3 in 1986.
Also in 1986, BMW introduced its first V12 engine in the 750i luxury sedan.
The company purchased the Rover Group in 1994; however the takeover was
not successful and was causing BMW large financial losses. In 2000, BMW
sold off most of the Rover brands, retaining only the Mini brand.

BMW Headquarters in Munich, Germany

Vision and Mission

BMW’s mission statement is “to become the world’s leading provider of
premium products and premium services for individual mobility.” The
statement shows that BMW has come of age and no longer settles on normal or
what can be defined as satisfactory products. Instead, the company goes beyond
this expectation to bring first-class cars, and that explains why the German
corporation is held in high ostentation across the globe. The mission statement
has the outlined features;

1. Improving lives.
2. Improving communities
 3. Global reach.

BMW’s vision statement is “to be the most successful premium

manufacturer in the industry.” The statement reveals the indicators that the
company wants to define its growth path. Moreover, with this quality, BMW
can affirm its leadership and influence in the automobile manufacturing sector.
The vision statement shows that BMW is:

1. The most successful.

2. Premium manufacturer.

Business strategies
BMW business strategy can be characterized as product differentiation with a
particular focus on design and digitization. Electro mobility represents the latest
direction for BMW Group product differentiation and the company introduced
its fully electric BMW i3 in 2013. This has been followed by plug-in hybrid
vehicle BMW i8 in 2014.  Moreover, BMW business strategy focuses on
individual mobility in the premium segment – combined with attractive mobility
services.

The company stays loyal to Strategy Number One which strives to align high
levels of profitability in short-term perspective with increasing the levels of
long-term value of the company in times of change. Four strategic areas for
BMW have been specified as “Growth”, “Shaping the Future”, “Profitability”
and “Access to technology and customers”

BMW Group competitive advantage is based on the following points:

1. Representation of status and achievement. BMW belongs to premium car

categories, and accordingly, possession of a BMW model car can be interpreted
as a sign of achievement and social status in a society.

2. Effective design and features integrated to each model of the

brand. These common design and effective features include, but not limited to
the two-section, rounded radiator grille, attractive aesthetics, sophisticated style,
and Hofmeister kink, i.e. the counter curve in the window-outline at the base of
the rear roof pillar.

3. Competitive post-sales service. BMW received positive acclaim for superior

after-the-sales customer service and this fact is greatly valued by customers.
Research and development (R&D) plays an integral role in sustainability of
BMW competitive advantage and this fact is duly recognized by the senior
management. In 2015, R&D investments were increased by EUR 136 million to
more than EUR 4.2 billion. It has to be noted that BMW competitive advantage
is challenging to sustain in the long-term perspective because sustainability of
competitive advantage depends on the ability of the company to introduce
innovative products, features and capabilities on a regular manner.

BOARD OF MANAGEMENT OF BMW AG

OLIVER ZIPSE
Chairman of the Board of Management

ILKA HORSTMEIER
People and Real Estate, Labor Relations Director

DR. MILAN NEDELJKOVIĆ

Production

PIETER NOTA
Customer, Brands, Sales

DR. NICOLAS PETER

Finance

DR. JOACHIM POST

Purchasing and Supplier Network

FRANK WEBER
Development

SUPERVISORY BOARD OF BMW AG

DR. NORBERT REITHOFER
Chairman of the Supervisory Board, former Chairman of the Board of Management

DR. MARTIN KIMMICH

Deputy Chairman of the Supervisory Board, Chairman of the General Works Council of BMW AG

STEFAN QUANDT
Deputy Chairman of the Supervisory Board, Entrepreneur

STEFAN SCHMID
Deputy Chairman of the Supervisory Board, Chairman of the Works Council Dingolfing
DR. KURT BOCK
Deputy Chairman of the Supervisory Board, Chairman of the Supervisory Board of BASF SE

CHRISTIANE BENNER
Second Chairwoman of IG Metall

DR. MARC BITZER

Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Whirlpool Corporation

BERNHARD EBNER
Chairman of the Works Council Landshut

RACHEL EMPEY
Supervisory Board Member

DR. HEINRICH HIESINGER

Chairman of the Supervisory Board of ZF Friedrichshafen AG

JOHANN HORN
District Manager of IG Metall Bavaria

DR. H.C. SUSANNE KLATTEN

Entrepreneur

JENS KÖHLER
Chairman of the Works Council Leipzig

GERHARD KURZ
Head of Purchasing, Quality Management Power train at BMW AG

ANDRÉ MANDL
Chairman of the Works Council Regensburg/Wackersdorf

DR. DOMINIQUE MOHABEER

Member of the Works Council Munich

ANKE SCHÄFERKORDT
Supervisory Board Member

PROF. DR. CHRISTOPH M. SCHMIDT

President of RWI – Leibniz Institute for Economic Research e.V.; University Professor

DR. VISHAL SIKKA

Founder and CEO of Vianai Systems, Inc.
SIBYLLE WANKEL
First Representative and Managing Director of IG Metall Munich

Product & Services;

1. BMW

BMW is dedicated only to the driver. BMW doesn't just build cars. The brand’s
innovations create emotion, enthusiasm, fascination and thrills.

2. BMW i

BMW i represents a holistic and ground-breaking approach that is redefining

sustainable premium mobility.

3. BMW M

BMW M stands for highly-dynamic driving fascination. The passion of its engineers
makes BMW M a pioneer in authentic motor-racing functionality with exclusive,
sporty aesthetic appeal.

4. BMW Motored

BMW Motorrad brings out the emotion in riders. Customers are fans - not just of
BMW Motorrad, but also of the lifestyle it embodies.

5. BMW Group Financial Services.

The main business activities are financing and leasing of BMW Group automobiles
and motorcycles for retail and commercial customers.

6. Design works.

The BMW Group subsidiary is a global creative consultancy with studios in North
America, Europe and Asia. For the past 50 years, it has been shaping the mobility of
tomorrow and the way we will experience it in the future – in the automotive sector
and beyond.