What is BMW? - European Automobile Manufacture

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1. What is BMW?

BMW is one of the automobile manufacturing companies based in Europe. BMW stands for Bavarian Motor Works in English and Bayerische Motoren Werke in the German language. BMW is primarily focused on developing automobiles to meet comfortably with high tech advancements into the build.

BMW product line includes sedan cars, SUVs, Sports Cars, and coupe cars which do have internal combustion engines, hybrid and full electric vehicles to perform better and greater inroads. BMW vehicles are sold in almost all the countries in the world to cater to the market demand from the customers who are used to love BMW as a premier automobile company and for features.

2. History

BMW was founded by Karl Rapp on 7th March 1916. The initial stages of the BMW are traces back to three companies Rapp Motorenwerke, Bayerische Flugzeugwerke, and Automobilewerk Eisenach. The initial company name of BMW was initially Rapp Motorenwerke which was an aircraft engine manufacturer. After world war 1 and with the lowered demand for aircraft engines Karl Rapp deviated the business into a motorcycle in 1923 with the R32 model of BMW motorcycle.

With the start of World War 2, BMW re-expanded the aircraft engine manufacturing and made the best-sold aircraft engine which could fly at a top speed of 800km/h. After the war ends BMW manufacturing factory facility was heavily damaged by the bombing and military actions. BMW production of motorcycles was banned in the war period as the east German facility was seized by the Soviet Union. With the ban lifting after world war 2 BMW re-granted permission to manufacture motorcycles.

After the getting hard time with world war, BMW almost went bankrupt due to low sales and outdated products that BMW manufactured. BMW planned to get additional capital injection by selling BMW shares to Quandt Group led by Herber and Harald Quandt and the capital injection very well. BMW designed a new product lineup and started regaining the market share in the industry. 

Apart from the BMW brand, BMW does own Mini and Rolls Royce brands. BMW is publicly traded Frankfurt Stock Exchange and currently headquartered in Munich, Germany.