Prior to being the company that manufactures “The Ultimate Driving Machine”, BMW had its beginnings in the pre-World War II era. Founded by Karl Friedrich Rapp in 1913, BMW started out originally as a manufacturer of aircraft engines. It wasn't until 1916 that BMW officially started in the automobile industry, providing V12 engines for Austro-Daimler.
For a time, BMW AG, which it would be officially called in 1918 to present, only provided BMW Auto Parts, specifically, motorcycle engines for the Victoria model, manufactured by Nuremberg-based company in 1919. Eventually, BMW released their first motorcycle model in 1924, the R32. The R32's 500 cc air-cooled horizontally-opposed engine would become the trademark of BMW motorcycles for years to come.
BMW then released it's first car three years later, the BMW 3/15 when the company bought the Dixi Company in 1927. However, most people consider 1933 to be the year that the company released cars that could be considered 100% made with BMW Auto Parts like the BMW 327 and 328 and the highly regarded (at that time) BMW 335.
BMW played a large part in the arming the German war machine during the Second World War, providing engines for German aircrafts, land vehicles and even weapons (with their jet engines). With the fall of the Nazis, several of the BMW factories were either bombed or captured, forcing the company into a rebuilding phase.
The company's fortune could only get worse as the war ended. BMW was banned from manufacturing motorcycles and automobiles by the Allies, and was only able to start producing motorcycles in 1948 and automobiles in 1952 . In the meantime, the captured factories by the Soviets started selling BMW cars and motorcycles under the name of EMW (Eisenacher Motor-Werke), due to trademarks protecting the BMW name and logo. Further war reparations included the Bristol Aeroplane Company adopting the design of the BMW's 326, 327 and 328 models to produce their own line of cars.
1959 saw BMW considering selling the company due to lack of commercial success. The major shareholder at that time, Herbert Quandt, decided to take a risk and increase his shares to 50% and eventually saved the company with several successful ventures in sports sedans, particularly in 1961 with the BMW 700 in the that same year and the BMW 1500 in 1961.
By 1963, the company had completely stabilized, finally recovering from the effects of WWII. It wasn't until the late 1960's however, that BMW gained international acclaim, with the arrival of Eberhard von Kuenheim, who rallied the company to increased production values of BMW vehicles and BMW Auto parts from the 1970s up until the mid-90s.
At present, BMW is still going strong. With it's popularity among international celebrities as well as in motorsport, BMW has come a long way from it's humble beginnings in 1913. Currently, BMW automobiles, motorcycles and
BMW Auto Parts are worth € 49 billion and has factories in the U.S., U.K., China, South Africa, Austria and just recently India.
