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100 years of BMW explained in these slides

BMW was established following a restructuring of the Rapp Motorenwerke aircraft manufacturing firm.

It was founded on March 7, 1916 and stood for Bayerische Motoren Werke. In 1917, the company got its present emblem.

At the end of the 1920s, the emblem made its first appearance in the company's advertising. In 1922, the company relocated to the current production facilities of BMW at Munich's Oberwiesenfeld airfield.
In 1923, the company offered its first motorcycle - R32. It came equipped with BMW M2B33 494cc side-valve air-cooled flat-twin which produces a top speed of 95 km/h.
BMW became an automobile manufacturer in 1928 by purchasing Fahrzeugfabrik Eisenach. The first BMW small car was Dixi, based on the Austin 7 and licenced under the Austin Motor Company in 1929. It came equipped with 747cc straight-4 engine.
At the Nürburgring in June 1936, the first public display of the BMW 328 was to define the young brand’s motorsport ambitions right up to the 1960s. The 328 had more than 100 class wins in 1937.
During the Second World War, BMW devoted its resources almost exclusively to building aircraft engines for the German Air Force.
From 1942, convicts, Eastern European prisoners of war, and predominantly Western Europe forced labourers were made to work at BMW alonside concentration camp prisoners.

During that time, the use of forced labour was tacitly approved and accepted.
The first BMW vehicle to take to the road after 1945 was the R 24 motorcycle, introduced in March 1948.

It was the first post-war model of the single-cylinder series. It produced a top speed of 95 km/h.
BMW's first post-war automobile was the 501, built from 1952 onwards. It was introduced to the public in April 1951 at the Frankfurt Motor Show.
The Isetta, also known as the bubble car because of its egg shape and bubble like windows, is an Italian designed microcar.

It became world's first mass-production car to achieve fuel consumption of 3 L/100 km. At its time, it was the top-selling single cylinder car in the world.
The first New Class Vehicle was the 1500, a 4-door compact executive car with the new M10 OHC 4-cylinder engine. It established the identity of BMW automobiles as sports sedans. The 1500 could accelerate to 100 km/h in approximately 15 seconds.
In the mid-1960s, BMW plant Munich reached the limit of its capacity. The company then purchased crisis ridden automotive manufacturer Hans Glas GmbH with its locations in Dingolfing and Landshut.
BMW needed space in its Munich plant to meet the increasing demands of automobile production. In 1969, production of BMW motorcycles was transferred to Berlin - Spandau. The representatives of the 5 Series were the first to be manufactured completely at the facility.
BMW AG founded the Herbert Quandt Foundation in 1970 to celebrate the 60th birthday of its major shareholder.

The Foundation now aims to facilitate global dialogue and to drive social innovation.
The Rosslyn plant near Pretoria, South Africa, became the fisrt production location outside of Germany, in 1972, for the modern BMW Group. After major investments, production of BMW 3 Series vehicles was launched there at he beginning of 1984.
From 1970, BMW began building an administrative tower block in the north of Munich. It was officially opened on May 18, 1973.

It was declared a protected historic building in 1999. The tower's exterior is supposedly represents the shape of four cylinders in a car engine.
BMW enters into a joint venture with Steyr-Daimler-Puch AG, and built an engine plant in 1979.

In 1982, after BMW assumed sole responsibility for the plant, the first diesel power unit came off the assembly line in 1983.

Today, the plant is the Group's diesel technology competence Centre.
Some of the best BMW designers, engineers and technicians work there, to develop ideas and concepts for the companies' future vehicles.

One of the first major projects for them was the Z1 Roadster, which entered series production in 1988.
In 1986, BMW AG brought together all research and development work under one roof in Munich. BMW is the first automobile manufacturer to establish R&D centre.

The facility was officially opened on April 27, 1990. Currently, it has around 9,000 staff.
BMW built an automobile production facility in the USA in 1989. In 1994, the plant in Spartanburg, South Carolina, was specially designed for production of the BMW Z3 Roadster. From here, it is exported all over the world.
The new Rolls Royce plant and a new company headquarters were built in Goodwood, in Southern England. This was the sixth facility constructed since 1904, and started manufacturing from 2003.
On January 10, 1999, a new vehicle concept was unveiled to the world for the first time at the Detroit Motor Show. BMW X5 (E53) was the company's first SUV, branded as Sports Activity Vehicle (SAV).

It was offered by a range of petrol inline-6s, V8s and diesel engines. Its production ceased in 2006 and was replaced by BMW X5 (E70).
First unveiled as a concept car in 1997, the new MINI was launched by the BMW Group in 2001.

It is the first premium vehicle in small car segment. The MINI Hatch was the first in 2001.
The first Rolls Royce model to leave the production halls of BMW's Goodwood plant is the new Phantom. Every car there is individually made.
The BMW 1 Series is a series of compact luxury cars manufactured by BMW since 2004. The first generation model - E87, was available as a 5-door hatchback.
The BMW GINA Concept started its production in 2001, but was showcased to the public for the first time in 2008. It was designed by Chris Bangle.

GINA stands for "Geometry and functions In 'N' Adaptations". It has a flexible, stretchable water resistant translucent man-made fabric skin.
It is a 5-door urban electric car, and is the company's first zero emissions mass-produced vehicle due to its electric powertrain. It has an electric motor of 125 kW.
BMW unveiled a concept car for self driving future. The car offers a choice of driver-controlled or vehicle-controlled operations.

In driver mode, the car indicates the ideal driving line and speed; in "ease" or autonomous mode, the steering wheel retracts and the driver and front-seat passenger can turn to face each other.

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