Long , foresighted ago , specifically in borderland 1916 , a company that makes engines for aircraft was base in the city of Munich in the state of Bavaria in the south of Germany in Europe . The company went past the name , Bayerische Flugzeug Werke ( BFW ) . That name be changed to Bayerische Motoren Werke in 1917 . In English language , that is Bavarian Motor Works ( too BMW ) . And so was the acronym born . That acronym get hold up on to become loved and honour around the world . Bavaria was a financial and industrial state . BMW started out reach aeroplane engine and after swivel to make railway line brakes and inbuilt motor from 1918 , and then to making motorcycles in 1920 . The first BMW motorcycle dispatch the market Indiana 1923 . octonary years later , the brand name was getting wide hump for making automobiles . Today , the nominate is synonymous with high quality , high carrying out cars . ## When was BMW founded? Officially, the founding date of the company is March 16, 1916, though the brand name that we know and love today wasnt coined until 1917. The company take since grown and spread IT tentacle fairly widely . Today , the BMW Group includes : BMW , miniskirt ( acquired American Samoa part of the Rover Group but retained after the group was sold sour ) , Rolls-Royce ( right to the Rolls-Royce name acquired from Vickers Plc ) , and BMW Motorrad ( the subsidiary that makes motorcycle ) . In addition , information technology is part of the consortium that acquired and at present ownsHERE technology , a company that provides platform and placement service , American Samoa advantageously arsenic self-driving technology to its partners . HERE was originally known as Nokia Maps in front the attainment atomic number 49 2015 , and before IT stint with Nokia , information technology was Known as Navteq from 1985 to 2007 . In 2021 , China was the largest sales market for the group , accounting for 33.6 % of total sales . The connect States was second ( 14.6 % ) , and Germany , information technology abode root , be the third large market place for the brand ( 10.6 % ) .