Formerly | Rapp Moterenwerke AG |
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Company type | Public (Aktiengesellschaft) |
Industry | Automotive |
Predecessors | |
Founded | 27 October 1913Rapp Motorenwerke) March 7, 1916 (as BMW) | (as
Founder | Karl Rapp |
Headquarters | , |
Area served | Worldwide |
Key people |
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Products | |
Production output |
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Brands |
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Services | Car-sharing services, financing, leasing, insurance and other financial services |
Revenue | €155.50 billion (2023)[1] |
€17.096 billion (2023)[1] | |
€12.165 billion (2023)[1] | |
Total assets | €250.89 billion (2023)[1] |
Total equity | €92.923 billion (2023)[1] |
Owners |
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Number of employees | 154,950 (2023)[1] |
Website |
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The BMW Group (legally, Bayerische Motoren Werke AG, commonly abbreviated to BMW (German pronunciation: [ˌbeːʔɛmˈveː] ), sometimes anglicized as Bavarian Motor Works), is a German multinational manufacturer of luxury vehicles and motorcycles headquartered in Munich, Bavaria, Germany. The company was founded in 1916 as a manufacturer of aircraft engines, which it produced from 1917 to 1918 and again from 1933 to 1945 creating engines for aircraft that were used in the Second World War.
The companies automobiles are marketed under the BMW, Mini and Rolls-Royce brands, and motorcycles are marketed under the BMW Motorrad brand. Also in 2023, BMW was the world's ninth-largest producer of motor vehicles, with 2,555,341 vehicles produced[3] and in 2023 the 6th largest by revenue.[4] In 2023, the company was ranked 46th in the Forbes Global 2000.[5] The company has significant motor-sport history, especially in touring cars, sports cars, and the Isle of Man TT.
BMW is headquartered in Munich and produces motor vehicles in Germany, the United Kingdom, the Netherlands (ceased in 2023),[6] the United States, Brazil, Mexico, South Africa, India and China. The Quandt family is a long-term shareholder of the company, following investments by the brothers Herbert and Harald Quandt in 1959 that saved BMW from bankruptcy, with the remaining shares owned by the public.