BMW's roots trace to Otto Flugmaschinenfabrik, an aircraft engine company founded in 1910 by Gustav Otto. The company was reorganised as Bayerische Flugzeugwerke (BFW) in 1916. In parallel, Karl Rapp founded Rapp Motorenwerke in 1913, which was renamed Bayerische Motoren Werke GmbH in 1917. In 1922, the name and engine assets of Rapp/BMW were transferred to BFW, which adopted the BMW name — giving rise to the company that exists today.
BMW's first products were aircraft engines for the German military. After World War I, with restrictions on aircraft manufacturing, the company diversified into motorcycle engines and then full motorcycles, introducing the R32 in 1923 with its distinctive boxer twin engine layout. BMW entered the automobile business in 1928 by acquiring Fahrzeugfabrik Eisenach, which produced a licensed version of the Austin 7 marketed as the Dixi. BMW's own vehicles followed through the 1930s, growing into sports cars and larger luxury saloons.
During World War II, BMW concentrated on aircraft engine production — at a significant moral cost, using tens of thousands of slave laborers, primarily from Nazi concentration camps. BMW's factories were heavily bombed and postwar restrictions prohibited vehicle or aircraft production. The company survived by making pots, pans, and bicycles before restarting motorcycle production in 1948 and car manufacturing in 1952 with the 501 luxury saloon.
By 1959, slowing luxury car sales and thin margins from the Isetta microcar had pushed BMW to the brink of takeover by Daimler-Benz. A major investment by brothers Herbert and Harald Quandt saved the company as an independent entity. The Quandt family remains a significant shareholder.
The 1962 introduction of the New Class compact sedans marked the beginning of BMW's reputation for driver-focused cars. The 5 Series arrived in 1972, the 3 Series in 1975, the 6 Series in 1976, and the 7 Series in 1978. The M division — originally BMW Motorsport GmbH, renamed BMW M GmbH in 1993 — released its first road car, the mid-engine M1 supercar, in 1978, followed by the M5 in 1984 and the legendary M3 in 1986.
BMW acquired the Rover Group in 1994 but the purchase proved costly and unsuccessful; most Rover brands were sold off in 2000, though BMW retained the Mini brand. In 1998, BMW acquired the rights to the Rolls-Royce brand from Vickers, adding an ultra-luxury marque to the group. By 2023, BMW had become the world's ninth-largest producer of motor vehicles with over 2.5 million vehicles manufactured in that year alone.
BMW has a long and varied motorsport history spanning multiple categories. The company is most closely associated with touring car racing — the BMW 3 Series and its predecessors dominated the Deutsche Tourenwagen Meisterschaft (DTM), World Touring Car Championship (WTCC), European Touring Car Championship (ETCC), and British Touring Car Championship (BTCC) across several decades.
In endurance racing, BMW scored victories at the 24 Hours of Nürburgring, 24 Hours of Daytona, and 24 Hours of Le Mans, as well as the Spa 24 Hours. The company participated in Formula One both as an engine supplier and as a constructor, supplying the turbocharged four-cylinder engine that powered the Brabham BT52 to the 1983 Formula One World Championship with Nelson Piquet. BMW also ran its own Formula One constructor programme from 2000 to 2009. The Isle of Man TT is another area of historic BMW success, with numerous wins in various classes across multiple decades.
BMW operated the Formula BMW series as a junior single-seater category, and has been active in the IMSA SportsCar Championship and American Le Mans Series. The company also competed in Formula E as an electric racing series entrant.
The BMW Art Cars programme, launched in 1975 when sculptor Alexander Calder painted the BMW 3.0 CSL that raced at Le Mans, became a celebrated intersection of the brand's motorsport and artistic identities. Artists including Andy Warhol, Roy Lichtenstein, and David Hockney subsequently painted BMW racing and production cars, with a total of 19 Art Cars created.
BMW produces complete automobiles in Germany (Munich, Dingolfing, Regensburg, Leipzig), the United States (Spartanburg, South Carolina — the group's highest-volume plant), Mexico, China, South Africa, and Hungary. The Spartanburg plant focuses on X-series SUVs and crossovers including the X3 through X7. BMW also has assembly operations in Brazil, India, Indonesia, Malaysia, Thailand, and other markets using complete knock-down components.
The current BMW range spans the 1 through 7 Series and the X1 through XM SUV line. Performance variants are sold under the M designation (M2, M3, M4, M5, X5 M, X6 M, XM), while electric and plug-in hybrid vehicles carry the i sub-brand (i3, i4, i5, i7, iX range). BMW's motorcycle division, BMW Motorrad, has produced boxer-twin and inline-four machines from its Berlin-Spandau factory since 1969. In January 2022, BMW issued the last V12-powered series production model, the 7 Series "The Final V12", marking the end of that engine configuration in BMW's road car lineup.