Not long ago, when BMW released the BMW Concept i4, it also released a new BMW logo. This is the seventh time that BMW has changed its logo in its 107-year history. For us, it is a good opportunity to review the story of the BMW LOGO.

The predecessor of the BMW brand is the German Rapp Engine Manufacturing Company, which was founded in 1913 and was responsible for the production of aircraft engines. This is the first and last time the "horse" appears in the BMW logo.

In 1917, the Rapp Engine Manufacturing Company was reorganized, and the partners changed its name to the Bavarian Engine Manufacturing Company (Bayerische Motoren Werke or Bavarian Motor Works). Although the company changed its name, it initially Pu's technology, equipment, and employees remain unchanged. At this point BMW began work on designing a new company logo. The new logo inherits the circular design of the Rapp logo, with a black outer ring. The inner circle is the flag of Bavaria, where the company is located.

But because flags belonging to the government cannot appear on the logos of private companies. So BMW cleverly reversed the color arrangement of the state flag and used a golden line to surround the inner and outer circles. This is the first orthodox logo of BMW, and it has many similarities with the current logo. In July 1917, the name and logo BMW appeared in a commercial registration for the first time.

After the new logo was born, it only existed in BMW’s internal documents and brochures. Even in the first month after the new logo was registered, it did not appear in BMW's new advertisements. The official "installation" will have to wait until 6 years later. In 1923, BMW launched its first motorcycle, the R32, and this new logo officially appeared in people's sight.

As for the first car with the BMW logo, it was the Dixi? 3/15 model produced in 1929. It's just that it's not a BMW in the true sense, but an "OEM" car manufactured for the British Austin Motor Company.

In the same year, BMW released an advertisement with the BMW logo appearing in the propeller. This advertisement was to promote a new aircraft engine manufactured by BMW. The image of the propeller is also very consistent with this young company, highlighting BMW's leadership in the aircraft engine manufacturing industry.

In 1933, as the OEM contract between BMW and Austin Motors expired, BMW began to independently develop and design cars, and the BMW 303 model was born. This car has three BMW "logos" that have been passed down to this day. In addition to the "blue sky and white clouds" logo, BMW's classic "double kidney" grille also appears at the same time, as well as BMW's habit of using three digits for model names. It is the first BMW car officially recognized by BMW.

In the same year, BMW changed the company's logo, using thicker golden lines and golden BMW fonts. In a sense, it can also be seen as BMW's determination to position itself in the mid-to-high-end market.

In 1942, BMW published an article in the publication "Flugmotoren-Nachrichten" ("Aircraft Engine News"), and the story of the BMW badge as a rotating propeller began here. This is the origin of the BMW logo that many people are now familiar with.

In 1953, BMW revised its logo for the third time. The new logo abandons the golden borders and uses white instead, weakening the effect of the borders. The blue tone in "Blue Sky and White Clouds" has been slightly modified, and the three letters "BMW" have also become white. As for BMW motorcycles, they use a combination of silver edges and white letters. The reason for changing the logo this time is said to be because there was no particularly clear standard for the BMW logo before. Everyone only knows a rough idea, but there is no clear data on the specific fonts, sizes, proportions, edge thickness, etc. So BMW simply abandoned the previous logo and adopted a unified new logo.

In 1979, BMW revised the logo again. Replacing the flashier font of the previous version of the logo, the new version has become more formal, with slightly thicker white edges. The blue part returns to its original tone.

In the 1970s, under the leadership of CEO Eberhard von Kinheim, BMW created the first-generation BMW 3 Series-E21 coupe. This car marked the beginning of BMW's "control" journey and became the largest-selling car series in the BMW family.

In 2007, BMW launched a new three-dimensional logo. This is the most familiar generation of BMW logo to Chinese people. It has witnessed the birth of the first domestically produced BMW and the emergence of countless brilliance. All BMW models currently on sale use this logo.

Effective March 3, 2020, BMW adopted a new logo. The new logo adopts a flat design and retains the classic circular structure. The black outer ring has been removed and replaced with a transparent design. However, BMW also stated that the new logo will currently be mainly used for online and offline media promotions, and there are currently no plans to put it on new cars, interiors, or dealer store logos. The existing logo will be used alongside the new logo.

Editor's note:

Although foreign media continue to criticize BMW's new logo, I personally think the current "double standards" strategy is very smart. If BMW uses new logos on new energy models in the future, traditional models will still use the old logos, which will better distinguish BMW models.

This article comes from the author of Autohome Chejiahao and does not represent the views and positions of Autohome.