Last Updated on May 10, 2023 by Victor A
BMW is not only one of the most famous car brands in the market, but it’s also among the most recognizable brands in the world; but as you might have noticed, its name is an acronym, and it actually has a German meaning, but don’t worry since in here we tell you what does BMW stand for in English.
So, What does BMW stand for?
First of all, let’s decipher the meaning of the acronym “BMW”.
As you might notice, the brand has been called many names like Beemer, Beamer, Bimmer, etc. But forget about those as we are here for the actual name.
BMW stands for “Bayerische Motoren Werke GmbH” in German.
Bayerische serves as the location of where it was founded, while Motoren meaning the product they made, and Werke serving as a way to link the prior words to give them a proper combined meaning.
And what does BMW stand for in English?
If we translate Bayerische Motoren Werke from German to English we get “Bavarian Engine Works”.
Bayerische = Bavarian
Motoren = Engine
Werke = Works
GmbH stands for “Gesellschaft mit beschränkter Haftung”, which translated means: company with limited liability.
GmbH = Company
Basically, BMW in English means Bavarian Engine Works Company.
If we simplify it we would get something like “ Company from Bavaria that works on engines”.
That would be the easy answer, however, there’s more to it.
Why does the B from BMW mean Bayerische (Bavarian)?
The reason why the B stands for Bavarian is because of the company’s origin. BMW was founded on March 7, 1916, in Munich, located in the German state of Bavaria.
Something to note is that when it was founded back in 1916 it had a different name, Bayerische Flugzeugwerke AG, but thankfully it was renamed Bayerische Motoren Werke in 1922.
Today, BMW’s headquarters are located in Munich. The BMW Headquarter is a well-known building that was declared a protected historic building in 1999. The building has twenty-two floors and it went through renovations back in 2004 and finished in 2006.
Why does the M from BMW mean Motoren (Engines)?
This one is a curious one since a lot of people aren’t aware of BMW’s origin. The company we all know for producing some of the finest premium automobiles in the world actually started by manufacturing aircraft engines.
And it wasn’t until 1928 that BMW started making cars, thanks to the acquisition of Fahrzeugfabrik Eisenach, an automobile manufacturer from Eisenach, Germany.
After that BMW produced automobiles, motorcycles, and aircraft engines, however, they shifted focus into aircraft engines in World War II, and it wasn’t until 1948 that they resumed motorcycle production, while automobile production didn’t start until 1952.
Why does the W from BMW mean Werke (Works)?
This one only serves as a way to give meaning to the two prior words. However, if the brand would’ve been called BM (Bavarian Motors) it wouldn’t have been a bad name actually, it would just lack something, and the word “Werke” (Works) helps by giving meaning to the name.
Source: BMW
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