Whom You Know: Cruising Peachy Explores the History of BMW

Friday, October 30, 2009

Cruising Peachy Explores the History of BMW

The BMW Group is one of the most successful German manufacturers of automobiles and motorcycles and ranks among Germany’s largest industrial companies. It is the only automobile company in the world represented in all relevant premium segments, with the brands of BMW, MINI and Rolls-Royce.

The BMW Group headquarters are in Munich and the Chairman of the Board of Management is Dr. Norbert Reithofer. The Chairman of the Supervisory Board is Prof. Joachim Milberg.

For the 2008 financial year, the BMW Group achieved a global sales volume of more than 1.43 million automobiles and over 101,000 motorcycles, and generated a turnover of euro 53.2 billion.

The BMW Group’s EBIT for the 2008 financial year totalled euro 921 million.

At the end of March 2009, the company employed a global workforce of around 99,000.

The company’s shares (WKN 519000; ISIN DE0005190003) are listed on the Frankfurt Stock Exchange’s DAX index. On 31 December 2008, there were 601,995,196 BMW shares of common stock and 52,196,162 shares of preferred stock. This corresponds to a share capital of around euro 654 million. Members of the Quandt family hold 46.6 percent of the shares of the company’s common stock, while 53.4 percent of the common stock is held by institutional and private investors.

History

The Bayerische Motoren Werke GmbH was created on 21 July, 1917 from the former Rapp-Motorenwerke GmbH.

In 1918, the owners converted the company into a joint stock company. In 1922, the company’s engine production operations, its name and the BMW trademark were transferred to the Bayerische Flugzeugwerke A.G., which was founded in 1916.

The company initially focused on the development and production of aircraft engines and from 1923 onwards, also on motorcycles. In 1928, BMW laid the foundation for its success as an automobile manufacturer with the purchase of the Eisenach motor vehicle factory.

Brands and objectives

The BMW Group brands BMW, MINI and Rolls-Royce are three of the strongest premium brands in the automotive industry today. Vehicles built by the BMW Group offer superb product substance in terms of aesthetic appeal, dynamic performance, technology and quality, and underline the company’s leading position in innovation and technology. The BMW Group also occupies a strong market position in the motorcycle segment with the brands of BMW and Husqvarna. BMW Financial Services rounds off the successful business of the BMW Group.

The goal of the BMW Group is to achieve profitable growth and above-average returns by focussing on premium segments. The company successfully began its strategic realignment “Strategy Number ONE” in September 2007, with the aim to be the leading provider of premium products and premium services for individual mobility.

Sustainability

Corporate sustainability is firmly established as a guiding principle of the company’s strategy and culture. The BMW Group complies with the ten principles of the Global Compact and the Cleaner Production Declaration of the United Nations Environmental Program (UNEP). In addition, the company also adheres to the agreements of the International Labour Organisation (ILO), the OECD’s guidelines for multinational companies and the Business Charter for Sustainable Development issued by the International Chamber of Commerce (ICC).

For four consecutive years the BMW Group has been named as the world’s most sustainable automobile company in the Dow Jones Sustainability Index. The BMW Group is the only automobile company to have been listed in the top three every year since the Dow Jones Sustainability Indexes were founded in 1999.

Production and assembly locations

The BMW Group is a global operation with more than 24 production and assembly plants in 13 countries.

In Germany, production facilities are located in Munich, Dingolfing, Regensburg, Landshut, Leipzig, Berlin, Wackersdorf and Eisenach; Spartanburg, USA; Rosslyn, South Africa; Oxford, Hams Hall, Swindon, and Goodwood in the UK; Steyr, Austria; Varese, Italy; and Shenyang, China.

Assembly plants are located in Kaliningrad, Russia; Cairo, Egypt; Chennai, India; Rayong, Thailand; Kulim, Malaysia; and Jakarta, Indonesia. These are mainly operated together with external partners.

The company also uses Magna Steyr Fahrzeugtechnik AG & Co KG in Graz (Austria) for contract production.

Sales and distribution network
Since the 1970s, the BMW Group has consistently pursued its objective to operate its own sales subsidiaries in all of the world’s major markets, as part of its sales strategy. Today, the sales network consists of 41 company-owned sales subsidiaries and more than 3,000 dealerships. Around 100 further countries are served by local importers. This means the BMW Group is active in more than 140 countries on all five continents.

For more on BMW Group:
http://www.bmwgroup.com/e/nav/index.html?../0_0_www_bmwgroup_com/home/home.html&source=overview

For more on BMW's History:
http://www.bmw.com/com/en/insights/history/bmwhistory/introduction.html

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