Bayerische Motoren Werke AG, trading as BMW Group (commonly abbreviated to BMW (German pronunciation: [ˌbeːʔɛmˈveː] ⓘ), sometimes anglicised as Bavarian Motor Works), is a German multinational manufacturer of luxury vehicles and motorcycles headquartered in Munich, Bavaria, Germany.

Following the end of World War I, BMW remained in business by producing motorcycle engines, agricultural equipment, household items, and railway brakes.

BMW became an automobile manufacturer in 1928 when it purchased Fahrzeugfabrik Eisenach, which, at the time, built the Austin 7 under licence from Dixi.

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.

[11] The relative success of the small BMW 700 assisted in the company's recovery, allowing them to develop the New Class sedans.

The company purchased the Rover Group in 1994, but the takeover was not successful and caused BMW large financial losses.

[21] This recovery was supported by the company's adoption of widely accepted technologies and integration of third-party services such as Apple Pay and on-demand music as well as key partnerships such as its collaboration with Daimler on autonomous driving.

[22][23] Additionally, BMW's strategic investment decisions which include localizing production of its SUVs to the Spartanburg plant in the U.S., placed the group in a position to easily navigate trade challenges and shifting consumer patterns.

[28] The suffix AG, short for Aktiengesellschaft, signifies an incorporated entity owned by shareholders, thus akin to "Inc." (US) or PLC, "Public Limited Company" (UK).

The terms Beemer, Bimmer and Bee-em are sometimes used as slang for BMW in the English language[29][30] and are sometimes used interchangeably for cars and motorcycles.

BMW retained Rapp's black ring inscribed with the company name, but the interior of the ring is quartered blue and white, reminiscent of the coat of arms and flag of Bavaria (which in turn are based on the arms of the historic House of Wittelsbach, which ruled Bavaria for many centuries).

[35] A persistent myth claims that the logo is based on the image of an airplane propeller spinning in a blue sky.

Shortly after, BMW also started making the chain-driven F and G series with single and parallel twin Rotax engines.

It had an engine producing 125 kW (168 hp), derived from the company's work with the Williams F1 team, and is lighter than previous K models.

The generation of anti-lock brakes available on the 2006 and later BMW motorcycles paved the way for the introduction of electronic stability control, or anti-skid technology later in the 2007 model year.

[54] BMW Group, on 31 January 2013, announced that Pierer Industrie AG has bought Husqvarna Motorcycles for an undisclosed amount, which will not be revealed by either party in the future.

BMW Welt, the company's exhibition space in Munich, was designed by Coop Himmelb(l)au and opened in 2007.

[66] To date, a total of 19 BMW Art Cars, based on both racing and regular production vehicles, have been created.

[78] In the UK, BMW has a Mini factory near Oxford, plants in Swindon and Hams Hall, and Rolls-Royce vehicle assembly at Goodwood.

[84] In 2018, BMW recalled 106,000 diesel vehicles in South Korea with a defective exhaust gas recirculation module, which caused 39 engine fires.

[85] Following the recall in South Korea, the government banned cars which had not yet been inspected from driving on public roads.

BMW is reported to have been aware since 2016 that more than 4% of the affected cars in South Korea had experienced failures in the EGR coolers,[87] leading to approximately 20 owners suing the company.

[126] In July 2014, BMW announced it was establishing a plant in Mexico, in the city and state of San Luis Potosi involving an investment of $1 billion.

[130] BMWs have been assembled in South Africa since 1968,[131] when Praetor Monteerders' plant was opened in Rosslyn, near Pretoria.

Unlike United States manufacturers, such as Ford and GM, which divested from the country in the 1980s, BMW retained full ownership of its operations in South Africa.

South African–built BMWs are now exported to right hand drive markets including Japan, Australia, New Zealand, the United Kingdom, Indonesia, Malaysia, Singapore, and Hong Kong, as well as Sub-Saharan Africa.

In addition to the South Carolina manufacturing facility, BMW's North American companies include sales, marketing, design, and financial services operations in the United States, Mexico, Canada and Latin America.

[146] In Uruguay, Spanish-born businessman José Arijón founded Convex (later Camur), which assembled BMW cars from 1965 to 1992.

[155] BMW has received criticism for attempting to lock vehicle hardware features behind subscription fees.

In 2018, BMW stated at the Detroit Auto Show that they will start charging users a subscription fee for Apple Car Play.