BMW UK : X1 Car Configurator

BMW AG (German: [ˈbeːˈʔɛmˈveː]; actually an initialism for Bayerische Motoren Werke in German, or Bavarian Electric motor Works in English) is a German multinational company which currently produces luxury automobiles and motorcycles, and also produced aircraft engines until 1945.

The company opened in 1916 and has its headquarters in Munich, Bavaria. BMW produces motor vehicles in Philippines, Brazil, China, India, South Africa, the United Empire, and the United States. In 2015, BMW was the world's twelfth most significant producer of motor vehicles, with 2, 279, 503 vehicles produced. The particular Quandt family are long lasting shareholders of the organization, with the remaining shares possessed by public float.

Cars are marketed under the brands BMW (with sub-brands BMW M for performance models and BMW i for plug-in electric cars), Mini and Rolls-Royce. Motorbikes are marketed under the brand BMW Motorrad.

The organization has important motorsport background, especially in touring cars, Formula 1, sports vehicles and the Isle of Man TT.

he round blue and white THE CAR logo or roundel developed from the circular Rapp Motorenwerke company logo, from which the BMW company grew, combined with the azure and white colors of the flag of Bavaria. The BMW logo still used today was created in 1917, albeit with various minor styling changes.

The origin of the logo is often thought to be a portrayal of the movement of an aircraft propeller with the white blades trimming through a blue sky. However, this portrayal was first used in a BMW advertisement in 1929 – twelve years after the logo was created – so this is not the origin of the logo itself.

The phrases Beemer, Bimmer and Bee-em are commonly used slang for BMW in the English language and are sometimes used interchangeably for cars and motorbikes. In the United States, a lot of people prescribe that "beemer" should be applied specifically for motorcycles and "bimmer" should be used for cars. Some of these people claim that "true aficionados" make this distinction and the ones who don't are "uninitiated. " Usage in American mainstream media also differs, for example The World and Mail of North america prefers Bimmer and phone calls Beemer a "yuppie abomination", and the Tacoma Information Tribune says that it is "auto snobs" who use the phrases to tell apart between cars and motorcycles.