To compliment our AUDI , VW & SKODA services, we have recently increased our scope to encompass the BMW brand into our operations due to high customer demand. With a staff roster that has extensive experience with the Bavarian Motoring giant we will continue to provide an outstanding service experience.

A Breif Hostory on BMW

Formed in 1916 under the name Bayerische Flugzeug-Werke, but then swiftly adopting the name Bayerische Motoren Werke (Bavarian Motor Works), BMW began as a highly acclaimed producer of aircraft engines.

It was in 1928 that the firm began to manufacture cars, with its first model being the Astin Seven. In 1929, BMW made headlines when Ernst Henne reached a top speed of 134.56mph on its 750cc motorbike.

The ’30s saw the introduction of BMW’s 303 saloon, which boasted the first BMW six-cylinder engine, as well as the legendary BMW 328 which launched in 1936, revolutionising the 2.0-litre sports car. Throughout the decade the brand grew to extend not only its range of production vehicles, but also its series of motor sporting wins.

After a five-year production hiatus and the destruction of the Munich plant in a 1944 air-raid, BMW started anew to build upon its previous success. On top of the technological advancements seen in its post-war vehicles, including the 502 V8 and the 507, BMW models continued to take motor racing competitors, like Austrian Ernst Hiller, to success on a global scale.

In 1962 the all-new BMW 1500 repositioned BMW as a manufacturer of the best quality sport saloons. The decade charted a number of successes for the company with the production of the 1500 and 1600 series, a range of new sedans and the 2.5CS and 2800 CS coupé models. Continued racing success came in the form of Dieter Quester, with big wins in the Formula Two series. In 1973, BMW won the European Touring Car Championship and European Championship for F2 cars.

New plants opened throughout the ’70s, bringing ever larger-scale production, with the brand creating one of the pioneering turbo engines used in mass-production. BMW soon entered F1 racing, winning the 1983 Formula One World Championship.

A partnership with Rolls-Royce founded in the mid-1990s allowed BMW to continue its research and development of aircraft engines, as well as working on gas turbines. BMW Rolls-Royce GmbH (BRR) employed 1,000 staff to undertake these tasks and a new generation of engines for short-haul aircraft was explored. In 1994, BMW acquired the Rover Group and later launched the MINI series.

The firm celebrated the 75th anniversary of the BMW badge, the 80th anniversary of the BMW sport motorcycle and the 50th anniversary of the light-alloy V8 engine in 2004.

Birth of the company and its name

Originally in 1885, automobile company Wanderer was established, later becoming a branch of Audi AG. Another company, NSU, which also later merged into Audi, was founded during this time, and later supplied the chassis for Gottlieb Daimler's four-wheeler.

On 14 November 1899, August Horch (1868–1951) established the company A. Horch & Cie. in the Ehrenfeld district of Cologne. Three years later in 1902 he moved with his company to Reichenbach im Vogtland. On May, 10th, 1904 he founded the August Horch & Cie. Motorwagenwerke AG, a joint-stock company in Zwickau (State of Saxony).

After troubles with Horch chief financial officer, August Horch left Motorwagenwerke and founded in Zwickau on 16 July 1909, his second company, the August Horch Automobilwerke GmbH. His former partners sued him for trademark infringement. The GermanReichsgericht (Supreme Court) in Leipzig, eventually determined that the Horch brand belonged to his former company.

Audi Type E

Since August Horch was banned from using "Horch" as a trade name in his new car business, he called a meeting with close business friends, Paul and Franz Fikentscher from Zwickau, Germany. At the apartment of Franz Fikentscher, they discussed how to come up with a new name for the company. During this meeting, Franz's son was quietly studying Latin in a corner of the room.

Several times he looked like he was on the verge of saying something but would just swallow his words and continue working, until he finally blurted out, "Father – audiatur et altera pars... wouldn't it be a good idea to call it audi instead of horch?" "Horch!" in German means "Hark!" or "hear", which is "Audi" in the singular imperative form of "audire" – "to listen" – in Latin. The idea was enthusiastically accepted by everyone attending the meeting. On 25 April 1910 the Audi Automobilwerke GmbH Zwickau (from 1915 on Audiwerke AG Zwickau) was entered in the company's register of Zwickau registration court.

Type E

10/22 hp (16 kW), was produced in the same year, followed by the successor Type B 10/28PS in the same year.

Audi started with a 2,612 cc inline-four engine model Type A, followed by a 3,564 cc model, as well as 4,680 cc and 5,720 cc models. These cars were successful even in sporting events. The first six-cylinder model Type M, 4,655 cc appeared in 1924.

August Horch left the Audiwerke in 1920 for a high position at the ministry of transport, but he was still involved with Audi as a member of the board of trustees. In September 1921, Audi became the first German car manufacturer to present a production car, the Audi Type K, with left-handed drive. Left-hand drive spread and established dominance during the 1920s because it provided a better view of oncoming traffic, making overtaking safer.

Type A

The merger of the four companies under the logo of four rings

In August 1928, Jørgen Rasmussen, the owner of Dampf-Kraft-Wagen (DKW), acquired the majority of shares in Audiwerke AG. In the same year, Rasmussen bought the remains of the U.S. automobile manufacturer Rickenbacker, including the manufacturing equipment for eight-cylinder engines. These engines were used in Audi Zwickau and Audi Dresden models that were launched in 1929. At the same time, six-cylinder and four-cylinder (the "four" with a Peugeot engine) models were manufactured. Audi cars of that era were luxurious cars equipped with special bodywork.

In 1932, Audi merged with Horch, DKW, and Wanderer, to form Auto Union AG, Chemnitz. It was during this period that the company offered the Audi Front that became the first European car to combine a six-cylinder engine with front-wheel drive. It used a powertrain shared with the Wanderer, but turned 180-degrees, so that the drive shaft faced the front.

Before World War II, Auto Union used the four interlinked rings that make up the Audi badge today, representing these four brands. This badge was used, however, only on Auto Union racing cars in that period while the member companies used their own names and emblems. The technological development became more and more concentrated and some Audi models were propelled by Horch or Wanderer built engines.

Reflecting the economic pressures of the time, Auto Union concentrated increasingly on smaller cars through the 1930s, so that by 1938 the company's DKW brand accounted for 17.9% of the German car market, while Audi held only 0.1%. After the final few Audis were delivered in 1939 the "Audi" name disappeared completely from the new car market for more than two decades.

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