History of BMW
The official founding date of the German motor vehicle manufacturer BMW is 7 March 1916, when an aircraft producer called Bayerische Flugzeugwerke (formerly Otto Flugmaschinenfabrik) was established.
Following the end of World War I, BMW remained in business by producing motorcycle engines, farm equipment, household items and railway brakes.
This was the legendary Max Fritz designed BMW R32 shaft drive motorcycle, which featured an integrated gearbox, recirculating rather than total loss lubrication and with the cylinder heads poking out for cooling.
BMW became an automobile manufacturer in 1928 when it purchased Fahrzeugfabrik Eisenach, which built Austin Sevens at that time under licence (under the Dixi marque).
During the war, against the wishes of Popp, BMW concentrated on aircraft engine production, with military motorcycles as a side line, and automobile manufacture stopped altogether in 1941, under government prohibition.
The range of cars was expanded in 1955, through the production of the cheaper Isetta microcar after acquiring the rights from Italian company Iso.
This led to a "proper car" styled by Micholetti based on the 600 was developed but consumed all available fund leading to very limited production in 1959.
Quandt joined the Nazi party in 1933 and made a fortune arming the German Wehrmacht, manufacturing weapons and batteries.
BMW's origins can be traced back to three separate German companies: Rapp Motorenwerke, Bayerische Flugzeugwerke and Fahrzeugfabrik Eisenach.
A site near the Oberwiesenfeld was chosen because it was close to Bayerische Flugzeugwerke (then called Otto Flugmaschinenfabrik), with whom he had contracts to supply his four-cylinder aircraft engines.
[10] Rapp was also sub-contracted by Austro-Daimler to manufacture their V12 aircraft engines, under the supervision of Franz Josef Popp, who was delegated to Munich from Vienna.
The German Empire did not, however, wish to go on supporting BMW with loans and guarantees, and therefore urged the flotation of a public limited company.
By analogy with this, the blue and white panels of the Bavarian national flag were placed at the center of the BMW logo.
[17] BMW's corporate history considers the founding date of Bayerische Flugzeugwerke (7 March 1916) to be the birth of the company.
[2] After the end of World War I in 1918, BMW was forced to cease aircraft engine production by the terms of the Treaty of Versailles.
[18] At the time, Max Wiedmann held about 80 percent of the shares in BMW, the majority of which were obtained from his father-in-law Julius Auspitzer.
[20] The disused factory of Bayerische Flugzeugwerke on Lerchenauer Straße was re-opened to produce engines for buses, trucks, farm equipment and pumps under the BMW brand name.
To enable this massive production effort, forced labor was utilized, consisting primarily of prisoners from concentration camps such as Dachau and Munich-Allach.
[41][46] From its introduction at the Eifelrennen race at the Nürburgring in 1936, where Ernst Henne drove it to win the 2.0 litre class,[41][47] to the overall victory of Fritz Huschke von Hanstein at the 1940 Brescia Grand Prix during World War II.
The Soviet Awtowelo Company continued production of the 327 and 340 under the Eisenacher Motorenwerk (EMW) brand with a red and white version of the logo until 1955.
During this ban, BMW used basic secondhand and salvaged equipment to make pots and pans, later expanding to other kitchen supplies and bicycles.
In 1948, BMW was still barred from producing automobiles, however, the Bristol Aeroplane Company (BAC) inspected the factory, and returned to Britain with plans for the 327 model and the six-cylinder engine as official war reparations.
[61] It was also much heavier than expected, so the 2.0 L (120 cu in) six-cylinder engine (based on a pre-war design) struggled to provide adequate performance.
The rear-mounted engine was increased in size from 300 to 600 cc (18 to 37 cu in) and the 600's rear suspension was BMW's first use of the semi-trailing arm system that would be used on their sedans and coupes until the 1990s.
The dealers and small shareholders opposed this suggestion and rallied around a counter-proposal by Dr. Friedrich Mathern, which gained enough support to stop the merger.
The New Class had front disc brakes and four-wheel independent suspension,[93] which helped establish BMW's reputation for sporting cars.
Their first automotive assembly plant outside of Germany was announced to be built in Greer, South Carolina (between Greenville and Spartanburg) in the United States.
Already struggling after years of industrial disputes, Rover had a poor reputation but in trying to improve its image it would become a rival to the BMW market segment.
BMW found it difficult to reposition the English automaker alongside its own products and the Rover division was faced with endless changes in its marketing strategy.
The X5 was a large departure from BMW's image of sporting "driver’s cars", however, it was very successful and resulted in other SUVs being introduced, such as the smaller X3 in 2003.
