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.[1][2] This company was renamed to Bayerische Motoren Werke (BMW) in 1922. However, the BMW name dates back to 1917, when Rapp Motorenwerke changed its name to Bayerische Motoren Werke.[3] BMW's first product was a straight-six aircraft engine called the BMW IIIa. Following the end of World War I, BMW remained in business by producing motorcycle engines, farm equipment, household items and railway brakes.

This was not enough and the company was suspended, effectively bankrupt, from 6 November 1918 to 1 February 1919. BMW turned to motorcycle engine manufacturing, building a smooth operating horizontally opposed engine to keep the centre of mass low and thus make a more responsive machine. The engine was well received but the motorcycles made using it were not and sold slowly. BMW's General Director Franz Josef Popp had to branch out again and BMW became a sub-contract manufacturer for braking system manufacturer Knorr Bremse.

The major shareholder in BMW, Vienna based Italian speculator Camillo Castiglionli, sold all of his shares to Knorr Bremse in May 1920, who then acquired the remaining shares to make BMW a wholly owned subsidiary still run by Popp. Less than two years later Popp persuaded Castiglionli buy back the BMW company name and buy the Bayerische Flugzeugwerke for its production site on the other side of the air field. There the company produced its first motorcycle in 1923. 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).[4] The first car sold as a BMW was a rebadged Dixi called the BMW 3/15. 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, 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. BMW's factories were heavily bombed during the war, its automobile factory in the Russian controlled East Germany 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 after acquiring the rights from Italian company Iso. Slow sales of loss making luxury cars, declining profitable motorcycle sales as the economy improved and small profit margins from microcars meant BMW was in serious financial trouble. A "600" 4 seat version of the Isetta, with the "fridge" front door and one side door and a 600 cc air cooled horizontal twin motorcycle engine, was a sales flop. 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. In December 1959, the company was nearly taken over by rival Daimler-Benz. Herbert Quandt and Harald Quandt acquired a controlling interest, largely based on the sales prospect of the 700 resulted in the company surviving as a separate entity.

The Quandt's 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.[5][6] Many of his enterprises had been appropriated from Jewish owners under duress and with minimal compensation. At least three of his enterprises made extensive use of slave laborers, as many as 50,000 in all.[7][8] One of his battery factories had its own on-site concentration camp, complete with gallows. While the Quandt family and BMW were not directly connected during the war, funds amassed in the Nazi era by his father allowed Herbert Quandt to buy BMW.[9]

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, but the takeover was not successful and caused BMW large financial losses. In 2000, BMW sold off most of the Rover brands, retaining only Mini. BMW acquired the rights to the Rolls-Royce brand in 1998.

The 1995 BMW Z3 expanded the line-up to include a mass-production two-seat roadster, and the 1999 BMW X5 was the company's entry into the SUV market.

Their first mass-produced turbocharged petrol engine was introduced in 1980 (m102), with most engines switching over to turbocharging over the following decade. The first hybrid BMW was the 2010 BMW ActiveHybrid 7, and BMW's first electric car was the BMW i3 city car, which was released in 2013. After many years of establishing a reputation for sporting rear-wheel drive cars, BMW's first front-wheel drive car was the 2014 BMW 2 Series Active Tourer multi-purpose vehicle (MPV).

Aircraft and industrial engines

1913–1918: World War I

BMW's origins can be traced back to three separate German companies: Rapp Motorenwerke, Bayerische Flugzeugwerke and Fahrzeugfabrik Eisenach.

The history of the name itself begins with Rapp Motorenwerke, an aircraft engine manufacturer which was established in 1913 by Karl Rapp. 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.[10] Popp did not restrict himself to the role of observer, becoming actively involved in the overall management of the company.[11]

Motorcycles

BMW's motorcycle history began in 1921 when the company commenced manufacturing engines for other companies. BMW's own motorcycles— sold under the BMW Motorrad brand— began in 1923 with the BMW R 32,[28] which was powered by a flat-twin engine (also called a "boxer-twin" engine). Production of motorcycles with flat-twin engines continues to this day, however BMW has also produced many models with other types of engine.

Automobiles

1923–1939: Start of production

BMW's production of automobiles began in 1928, when the company purchased the Automobilwerk Eisenach car company from Gothaer Waggonfabrik. Eisenach's current model was the Dixi 3/15, a licensed copy of the Austin 7 which had begun production in 1927. Following the takeover, the Dixi 3/15 became the BMW 3/15, BMW's first production car.[29][30][31][32] Towards the end of 1930, BMW attempted to introduce a new front axle with independent wheel suspension for both their models, the BMW 'Dixi' 3/15 DA4 and BMW 'Wartburg' DA3, but this resulted in accidents with the prototypes because of construction faults.

External links

References

Tony Lewin. The BMW Century: The Ultimate Performance Machines Motorbooks, November 2016^
History BMW AG, retrieved 2021-08-10^
Charles Wankel. Encyclopedia of Business in Today′s World SAGE Publications, 12 June 2009^

1945–1951: Post-war rebuilding

In East Germany, the BMW factories at Eisenach-Dürrerhof, Wandlitz-Basdorf and Zühlsdorf) were seized by the Soviet Union. The factory at Eisenach was taken over by the Soviet Awtowelo Company.[53] and resumed production of the BMW 321 in 1945, just after motorcycle production also resumed.[53] A mildly revised BMW 327 entered production in 1948, followed by the BMW 340 in 1949. These were sold under the BMW name with the BMW logo affixed to them.[54] To protect its trademarks, BMW AG legally severed its Eisenach branch from the company. 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.

In West Germany, many of the BMW factories had been heavily bombed during the war. By the end of the war, the Munich plant was completely destroyed.[55] BMW was banned by the Allies from producing motorcycles or automobiles. 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. Bristol then employed BMW engineer Fritz Fiedler to lead their engine development team. In 1947, the newly formed Bristol Cars released their 400 coupé, a lengthened version of the BMW 327. that featured BMW's double-kidney grille.[56]

By the end of the 1940s BMW had returned to motorcycle manufacture but still had not restarted automobile manufacture.[57] There were several approaches considered regarding how to re-enter the automotive market. Kurt Donath, technical director of BMW and general manager of the Milbertshofen factory,[58] advocated to produce another manufacturer's old models under licence, also purchasing the tooling to produce the cars from the other manufacturer.[59] Chief engineer Alfred Böning's preferred approach was a small economy car, and he developed the BMW 331 prototype, powered by a 600 cc motorcycle engine.[59] In the end, it was sales director Hanns Grewenig's proposal that was successful. Grewenig believed that BMW's small production capacity was best suited to luxury cars with high profit margins, similar to the cars BMW made just before the war. To this end, he had Böning and his team design the BMW 501 luxury sedan.[60] The 501 was unveiled in 1951, however delays in receiving and setting up equipment caused production of the 501 to be delayed until late 1952.[61]

1952–1958: Production resumes in Munich

There were several other shortcomings with the 501 luxury sedan. The cost was approximately DM15,000— about four times the average German's earnings.[62] It was also much heavier than expected, so the 120 cuin six-cylinder engine (based on a pre-war design) struggled to provide adequate performance.[62][63] Construction of the 501 bodies was originally expected to be done in-house, however BMW ended up using bodies built by Karosserie Baur in Stuttgart for more than a year.[61]

In 1954, the 501 model range received some much-needed changes, which resulted in a doubling of sales. The 501 became the 501A and received a price reduction of DM1,000. An entry-level 501B model was introduced, priced at DM1,000 below the 501A.[64][65] Both models received an upgraded version of the six-cylinder engine. A new BMW 502 flagship model was introduced, with a higher trim level[64][65] and the new 2.6 L BMW OHV V8 engine,[64][66][67] BMW's first V8 engine.[64][65]

At the same time, BMW sought to offer a more affordable car. Motorcycles were BMW's largest money earner at the time, and their sales had peaked in 1954. Germans were turning away from mopeds and motorcycles toward light automobiles such as the Messerschmitt KR175 and the Goggomobil. After seeing the Iso Isetta bubble car at the 1954 Geneva Motor Show,[68][69] BMW entered talks with Iso Rivolta and bought both a licence to manufacture the Isetta and all the tooling needed to manufacture its body.[69][70] Production of BMW's version of the Isetta began in 1955; more than ten thousand Isettas were sold that year.[70] BMW made more than a hundred thousand Isettas by the end of 1958,[71] and a total of 161,728 by the end of production in 1962.[72]

The Isetta chassis was lengthened to create the BMW 600, since BMW knew that it needed a larger four-seat family car to keep up with the rising wealth and expectations of the German people, but could not afford to develop a new model from scratch. The rear-mounted engine was increased in size from 300 to 600 cc 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. Released in 1957, the 600 could not compete against the larger, more powerful Volkswagen Beetle. Production ended in 1959 after fewer than 35,000 were built.[73][74]

Influenced by the public response to the introduction of the Mercedes-Benz 300SL and Mercedes-Benz 190SL in 1954, BMW began development of a sports car based on the platform of the BMW 502 luxury sedan.[75] The styling was contracted out to industrial designer Albrecht von Goertz, who designed a two-seat roadster and a four-seat grand tourer versions.[76] The BMW 507 roadster was introduced at the Waldorf-Astoria Hotel in New York in early 1955,[77][78] while the BMW 503 four-seater was introduced a few months later.[76] However, high prices would be the downfall of both models. Max Hoffman, the BMW importer for the United States, told BMW that he would order 2000 507s if he could sell them for US$5,000 each.

By 1959, BMW was in debt and losing money.[83] The Isetta was selling well but with small profit margins.[84] Their 501-based luxury sedans were not selling well enough to be profitable and were becoming increasingly outdated.[85] Their 503 coupé and 507 roadster were too expensive to be profitable.[85] The BMW 600, a four-seater based on the Isetta, was selling poorly.[86] The motorcycle market imploded in the mid-1950s with increasing affluence turning Germans away from motorcycles and toward cars.[87] BMW had sold their Allach plant to MAN in 1954.[88]

At BMW's annual general meeting on 9 December 1959, Dr. Hans Feith, chairman of BMW's supervisory board, proposed a merger with Daimler-Benz. 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.[84][89] At that time, the Quandt Group, led by half-brothers Herbert and Harald Quandt, had recently increased their holdings in BMW and had become their largest shareholder.[89] By the end of November 1960, the Quandts owned two-thirds of BMW's stock between them.[83]

By this time, BMW had launched the BMW 700, a small car with a rear-mounted 697 cc engine (based on the BMW R67 motorbike engine). The 700 was available as a 2-door sedan, a coupe and a "RS" model for racing.[90][91]

In 1960, the development program began for a new range of models, called the "Neue Klasse" (New Class) project.[92] The resulting BMW New Class four-door sedans, introduced in 1962, are credited for saving the company financially and establishing BMW's identity as a producer of sports sedans. The New Class had front disc brakes and four-wheel independent suspension,[93] which helped establish BMW's reputation for sporting cars. It was the first BMW to officially feature the "Hofmeister kink", the rear window line that has been a styling feature of most BMWs since.[94] By 1963, with the company back on its feet, BMW offered dividends to its shareholders for the first time since World War II.[95]

In 1965, the New Class range was expanded with the New Class Coupés luxury models. The following year, the two-door version of the 1600 was launched, along with a convertible in 1967. These models began the BMW 02 Series, of which the 2002 sports sedan model was the best known.[96]

BMW acquired the Hans Glas company based in Dingolfing, Germany, in 1966. Glas vehicles were briefly badged as BMW until the company was fully absorbed. It was reputed that the acquisition was mainly to gain access to Glas’ development of the timing belt with an overhead camshaft in automotive applications,[97] although some saw Glas’ Dingolfing plant as another incentive. However, this factory was outmoded and BMW's biggest immediate gain was, according to themselves, a stock of highly qualified engineers and other personnel.[98] The Glas factories continued to build a limited number of their existing models, while adding the manufacture of BMW front and rear axles until they could be closer incorporated into BMW.[99]

Aircraft and industrial engines

1913–1918: World War I

Motorcycles

Automobiles

1923–1939: Start of production

See also

Further reading

External links

References

1918–1923: Post-war aftermath

1939–1945: World War II

1945–1951: Post-war rebuilding

1952–1958: Production resumes in Munich

1968–1978: New Six, 3 Series, 5 Series, 7 Series

1978–1989: M division

1989–1994: 8 Series, hatchbacks

1994–1999: Rover ownership, Z3

1999–2006: SUV models, Rolls-Royce

2006–2013: Shift to turbocharged engines

2013–present: Electric/hybrid/fuel-cell power