History of BMW
The history of BMW began in 1916. The company was originally an aircraft engine manufacturer. It was still a limited liability company in 1917 and changed its name to Bavaria Engine Manufacturing in 1918. joint-stock company and listed on the stock market. BMW is the abbreviation of Bayerische Motoren Werke.
In its initial stage, the company was mainly committed to the research, development and production of aircraft engines. BMW's blue and white logo symbolizes the rotating propeller, which is a portrayal of the company's early history. In 1923, the first BMW motorcycle was launched. Five years later, in 1928, BMW acquired the Eisenach automobile factory and began producing cars. Since then, BMW has brought many masterpieces in the history of automobile manufacturing to the market. These products continue to inspire strong emotions and people's desires, creating BMW's outstanding reputation as an automobile manufacturer.
BMW Group’s products and brands: BMW, MINI and Rolls-Royce. Currently, the BMW Group has 22 production and assembly plants in 14 countries around the world. Five BMW factories are located in Germany, the United States and South Africa; one MINI factory is in Oxford, UK; in addition, the BMW Group also established a Rolls-Royce headquarters in Goodwood, UK and built a new production plant. The BMW Group has 4 parts factories and 3 engine factories, located in Germany, Austria and the United Kingdom. The fourth engine plant (TRITEC Motor Ltda.) is located in Brazil and is a joint venture between the BMW Group and DaimlerChrysler. The BMW Group also has eight BMW automobile assembly plants, located in Mexico, Thailand, Egypt, Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Russia and Vietnam. Most of these are operated by the BMW Group in cooperation with partners outside the group.
In 1994, the BMW Group established a representative office in Beijing, China.
Production base:
Berlin Branch
Dingolfen Branch
Eisenach Branch
Hamshall Branch, UK
Manchester Branch
Munich Branch
Oxford Branch, UK
Regenberg Branch
Joslin Branch, South Africa
Spartanburg Branch, USA
Steyr Branch, Austria
Swindon Branch, UK Factory
TRITEC Motor Ltda, Curitiba, Brazil
(Joint venture with DaimlerChrysler)
Wackersdorf Branch
p>Assembly plant:
Assembly plant in Hanoi, Vietnam
Assembly plant in Jakarta, Indonesia
Assembly plant in Galli, Russia
< p>Cairo Assembly Plant, EgyptKuala Lumpur Assembly Plant, Malaysia
Manila Assembly Plant, Philippines
R&D Center:
Research and Innovation Center ( FIZ),
Munich
BMW Technology Center,
Munich
BMW Automotive Information Technology Center,
Munich
Designworks Design Center,
New Braypack, USA
BMW Engine Center,
Steyr, Austria
p>Rayong Assembly Plant in Thailand
Tuluca Assembly Plant in Mexico
For a long time, the BMW Group has been proving its strength in sports events and has won numerous championships. and set many new records. As early as 1919, an aircraft equipped with a BMW engine won BMW's first world record by flying at an altitude of 9,760 meters. In 1937, a BMW motorcycle set a new motorcycle speed record at 279.5 kilometers per hour, a record that stood for 14 years. In 1940, in the famous Italian "Mille Miglia" event, the legendary BMW 328 won the championship in all classes. From 1973 to 1979, BMW won the European Touring Car Championship six times.
In 1983, BMW won the Formula One championship.
BMW sports glory continues to this day: in 1999, BMW won first place in the 24 Hours of Le Mans. In 2000, BMW successfully returned to the Formula One arena, and in the third year, the BMW-Williams team became the second strongest team in the Formula One event. With Ralf Schumacher and Juan Pablo Montoya's BMW Williams team trailing only Ferrari. In terms of performance and reliability of the car, BMW Williams won the championship, with no other team covering so many laps. The BMW V10 engine broke all records with its world-leading performance data - 19,050 rpm and 900 German horsepower.
BMW of Germany. "BMW" was once translated as Bayer. Since BMW started its business by producing aircraft engines, the blue in the trademark represents the sky and the white represents the propeller. This is the first major feature of the "BMW" trademark; the second major feature is the radiator of the "BMW" car ( The two metal square frame air intake grilles in the middle of the car nose). BMW is the abbreviation of the company's full name "Bayerische Motorenwerke AG". "BMW" adopts the graphic of double circles inside and outside, and the trademark "BMW" is marked above the double circles. The entire trademark is like the blue sky, white clouds and non-stop propellers, which symbolizes BMW's long history. It not only symbolizes the company's past leadership in aero-engine technology, but also symbolizes the company's consistent purpose and goal: to travel in the vast space and time. , using the latest science and technology and the most advanced concepts to meet the greatest wishes of customers, reflecting the company's vigorous and progressive spirit and ever-changing new look.
The full name of BMW is Bayerische Motoren-Worke, and in English it is Bavarian Motor Works. It was registered in March 1916 by a company that manufactured aircraft engines. The company's first successful product was an inline six-cylinder engine designed by Max Fitz, which was installed in German fighter planes during World War I. German ace aviator Ernst Udet and Red Duke Frederic von Lichtfen attributed a large part of their success to BMW engines. (BMW's earliest aircraft engine factory) In November 1918, the First World War ended and Germany became a defeated country. Their aircraft were listed as "war weapons" by the "Treaty of Versailles" and prohibited from production, so the company conducted a series of Helios reorganized and purchased the manufacturing rights of the Helios factory, but later found that Helios motorcycles were useless and almost brought BMW down. In 1922, BMW developed its first motorcycle engine. Although it was not adopted, it set an important direction for the car factory. Later, it re-manufactured an engine designed by Max Fitz at the Victoria-Worke plant in Nuremberg. The designed 500ml air-cooled horizontally opposed two-cylinder motorcycle engine is assembled on the revolutionary R-32 motorcycle. Its power is transmitted to the rear wheel through the drive shaft instead of the chain. The R-32 is a classic BMW motorcycle. The car ordered a sample. In 1924, BMW put the R-32 into market competition and quickly achieved success. (Dixi 315) BMW wanted to make its own sedan, but it didn't want to challenge the then-big Daimler-Benz cars, so decided to try something smaller. At that time, a factory called Asunli Transportation Industries owned a car brand named Wartburg, which was later renamed Dixi. At that time, the sales of Dixi cars were not good, so they applied to the Austin car factory in the United Kingdom for the right to manufacture the Type 7 car in Germany. It was officially put into production in 1927 and was renamed Dixi 315 DAI (DA is the German version). This model was favored by Germany. The British-German hybrids welcomed by customers have transformed the car factory's vitality. In the eyes of BMW's shareholders, the merger of Accenture and BMW was the best opportunity to improve the brand, and the two finally merged in 1928. In July 1929, BMW launched its first car, the 315, which was a renamed Dixi 315 produced at the beginning of the year. However, experts disagree that the DiXi 315 was BMW's first car. In any case, BMW's 315 was produced until the end of 1932, which lasted for nearly 6 years.
The Disi is very basic transportation, but it takes BMW into the world of four wheels. It didn't look like a racing car at all, but the owner of the Disci couldn't wait to start testing it on the track. Surprisingly, a Disi car actually succeeded in the 1929 Alpine Rally. BMW 315 In March 1932, the factory improved the 320 from the 315 and was born. It was equipped with a 782ml engine. The new car began to have its own personality and direction, and the power was increased from 11 to 15kW. In 1933, at the Berlin Motor Show in Germany, BMW showed their latest model 303, which was evolved from the 320 and equipped with a parallel 6-cylinder, dual carburetors, a cylinder volume of 1,173ml, and a high-performance engine with a power of 22kW. It is a two-door, four-seat sedan with a front cover that occupies half of the body. The ventilation partitions on both sides have the same design and are separated by a center line. The cabin space is sufficient and comfortable. After the 303 type, it was extended to the 315, 319, 320 and 321 types. BMW's creative source is continuing. In addition, it seems that BMW has a soft spot for sports cars. In 1935, BMW's first sports car, the 315-1, came out. It was an improved version of the 315. The power of the six-cylinder engine equipped with three Solix carburetors increased to 29kW. With a top speed of 130km/h, this car is also famous for its low fuel consumption, safety and easy control. Its elegant design highlights BMW's strict requirements for performance. The 315-1 two-seat car was manufactured in 1935 and 1936. Only 242 were produced in total, but it set a sample for subsequent successful BMW cars to follow. In 1936, the 319 model, which had the same appearance as the old model but increased the cylinder volume to 1911ml, was launched. The power was increased to 40kW, the top speed was also increased to 140km/h, and the compression ratio was 5.6:1. At this time, BMW also began to engage in the manufacturing of Touring Car market, which is today collectively referred to as a three-box four-door touring car. This is the beautiful 326 model. Its classic body design made it an eye-catching car at the 1936 Berlin Auto Show. Highlights. It is targeted at middle- and upper-class families to attract Mercedes-Benz customers. At the same time, it also represents BMW's move towards the high-end market. This was the most successful BMW car of the 1930s, with 16,000 sold between 1936 and 1941. The 326 provided buyers with hydraulic brakes, a torsion bar rear suspension system, a newly designed independent front suspension system, and a replacement The solid body of the former BMW sedan chassis, it is available in convertible and hardtop models, with a top speed of 112 kilometers per hour. In the same year, BMW's entire 4-cylinder engine design was changed to a 6-cylinder engine design, and the 309 model using a 4-cylinder engine was also discontinued at the same time. The 326 type soon became the main force of BMW's 6-cylinder touring car, which also included the 320 type (1937-1938) and the 321 series (1939-1941) that had poor sales. Just as BMW was finding success with its family and luxury sedans, it had developed classic models that would become the greatest cars of the thirties. The 328 model launched by BMW in 1936 had a huge impact on the sports car world. It improved the design of the 315-1 sports car, equipped with a BMW 2-liter engine with a high-performance aluminum cylinder head, and could be equipped with a race-specific gearbox and With quick-release wheels, the top speed of the 328 is close to 150 kilometers per hour. The lightweight and strong tube chassis makes the suspension system relatively soft, but the operation is extremely comfortable. In the remaining years of the 1930s, the BMW 328 became an icon of sports car design, and in the post-war years it became a classic, collected by collectors and classic car racers alike. For many BMW enthusiasts it still marks the high point in the company's history! 328 sports car racing at the 24 Hours of Le Mans Elegant design was a feature of a range of sedans throughout the late 1930s, and the 327 was one of the best-looking of all BMWs. It was a coupe version of the earlier 326. Because the company decided to launch the 328 two-seater first, the 327 was delayed until 1937. It was a high-performance model equipped with the 2-liter engine of the 328 sports car. By the late 1930s BMW represented the pinnacle of affluent, pure Nazi German lifestyle. In addition to the choice of engines, the 327 offered the possibility to choose professional handcrafts and, if you wanted, a wooden body in coupe or convertible. BMW has a range of cars to suit almost every taste, provided you have enough money, of course.
But while BMW continued to roll out its beautifully designed, powerful sedans, the vast energies of German industry were directed toward making instruments of war. Germany planned to arm itself better than its potential enemies. Companies like BMW are an integral part of this plan. By 1939, BMW was extensively involved in a range of high-tech military projects, including aircraft development, jet aircraft engines, and rocket engines. But the steel coming out of Germany's furnaces can still be used to make cars. BMW had one last pre-war design to launch, the last of its classic designs from the 1930s. The 335 was launched in 1935. It was equipped with a 3.5-liter engine and was a luxurious improvement of the 326. This model continued to be produced until 1941 and became a favorite of senior military officers. It was not produced in large numbers, with only 410 units in total. By 1939, BMW had developed as an automobile manufacturer for more than ten years, but the outbreak of World War II announced the end of this period. BMW continued to be produced, but the company's designs and resources had been diverted to war purposes, and BMW used a significantly increased workforce, many of whom came from prisons and concentration camps. The company's mastery of aircraft engine production was a major factor in the Luftwaffe's technological superiority. The famous Focke-Wulf 190 fighter engine is produced by BMW. BMW's success attracted the attention of the Allies, and its factory in Munich was bombed continuously. One day in July 1944, nearly 12,000 bombs hit BMW's factory. In 1945, at the end of World War II, Germany accepted unconditional surrender and split into East and West Germany. Sennach became part of East Germany, and all the facilities in the Munich factory were blown to pieces by the Allied forces. This heavy damage will take several years. It takes time to recover. BMW, which has experienced war for the second time, will take up to 7 years before it can be put into production again. At this time, BMW's vitality appears to be very fragile.