BMW is independent. It owns itself.
Bayerische Flugzeugwerke was founded in Munich on 7 March 1916, the date BMW gives as its own founding, and the aero-engine maker Rapp Motorenwerke that supplied the BMW name was renamed Bayerische Motoren Werke in 1917 and transferred that name, its assets and its engine business to BFW in 1922.
Where it sits
Nowhere. There is no level above this one.
BMW
110 years, one owner
The year is coloured by whoever held it at the time.
- 1916 Bayerische Flugzeugwerke was founded in Munich on 7 March 1916, the date BMW gives as its own founding, and the aero-engine maker Rapp Motorenwerke that supplied the BMW name was renamed Bayerische Motoren Werke in 1917 and transferred that name, its assets and its engine business to BFW in 1922.
BMW
4 marques
The British marques were bought, not built: MINI came with the Rover Group, and the Rolls-Royce name came from the aero-engine maker in a split that sent the Crewe factory and Bentley to Volkswagen. The largest blocks of ordinary shares are listed under members of the Quandt family rather than under a holding company.