BMW

Bayerische Motoren Werke AG, translated into English as Bavarian Motor Works is more commonly known just as BMW around the world, is a German multinational company.

BMW specializes in the production of both luxury vehicles and motorcycles, with a rich history which can be dated back to 1916 when it was founded as a manufacturer of aircraft engines.

BMW produced aircraft engines from 1917 to 1918 after which it halted this production until it resumed from 1933 to 1945.

Formed under the name Bayerische Flugzeugwerke AG in 1916, the company name changed to what it is known as today, Bayerische Motoren Werke, or BMW, in 1922.

The name, however, dates back even further, to 1913, when it was used by the original company, Rapp Motorenwerke, used it so that BMW could be established form it.

The first product was that of a straight-six aircraft engine which was used by aircraft in the first World War

Following the end of the war, BMW remained in business by focusing on the production of motorcycle engines along with farm equipment, household items, and railway brakes. In 1923 BMW produced its first proprietary motorcycle, the BMW R 32.

By 1928, BMW had become a manufacturer of automobiles when the Fahrzeugfabrik Eisenach was purchased and before the 1930s, BMW sold its first car, the rebadged Dixi, called the BMW 3/15 after BMW acquired Automobilwerk Eisenach.

BMW’s range expanded drastically throughout the 1930s and it entered into both the sports car and larger luxury car business subsequently.

Until World War II, BMW had mainly been focused on the manufacturing of aircraft engines, motorcycles, and automobiles but during the war, BMW, against the wishes of the director, Franz Josef Popp, the focus returned to aircraft engine production.

After suffering substantial damage due to bombings during the war and having been banned from producing either motor vehicles or aircraft after the war, the motorcycle production line was restarted in 1948.

Car production had been resumed in Bavaria by 1952 and the BMW 501 luxury saloon was established.

BMW saw significant expansion of its range of cars in 1955 with the production of the Isetta microcar under license.

By 1959, BMW’s finances were in dire straits due to the slow sales of luxury cars in addition to small profit margins which nearly resulted in BMW being taken over by its rival at the time, Daimler-Benz.

BMW survived as result of the substantial investment that was made by Herbert Quandt and Harald Quandt with BMW surviving as a separate entity. With the launch of the BMW 700, BMW achieved great success, assisting in the recovery of the company.

BMW’s reputation as a leading manufacturer of sport-oriented cars was attributed to the BMW New Class compact sedans in 1962 with the expansion of the range occurring when coupe and luxury sedan models were added.

The first mid-engine supercar was released as the first road car for BMW in 1978 which was swiftly followed by the BMW 5 in 1984 along with the BMW M3 in 1986. The first V12 engine in the luxury sedan was also announced during the same year.

In 1994, Rover Group was purchased by BMW and due to the lack of success large financial losses were suffered by BMW resulting in the selling off of a majority of the Rover brands and retaining only the Mini brand.

The rights to Rolls Royce brand was acquired by BMW from Vickers Plc and by 1999, BMW had made its entry into the SUV market with the launch of the BMW X5.

BMW successfully mas-produced the first turbocharged petrol engine in 2006 which was followed by the substantial shift over to turbocharging in the following decade.

By 2013, BMW had successfully manufactured its first electric car, the BMW i3 city car and following its outstanding reputation for sporting real-wheel drive cars, BMW launched its first front-wheel drive car in 2014, the BMW 2 Series Active Tourer, a multipurpose vehicle.

BMW oversees a high-value, extensive and vast product portfolio of brands in automobiles such as BMW, Mini, Rolls-Royce, BMW M series, BMW X series, BMW i-series in addition to motorcycles such as the BMW Motorrad.

BMW not only has a rich history, but today it is a global brand recognized immediately by its distinctive logo and although headquartered in Munich, Germany, BMW produces motor vehicles in Germany, Brazil, China, India, South Africa, the UK, USA, and Mexico.

The production of cars and motorcycles have given it a substantial reputation in addition to the significant motorsport history that it has pertaining to touring cars, Formula 1, sports cars, and the Isle of Man TT.

By 2017, BMW had reported earnings which amounted to € 8.620 billion in addition to an annual revenue of € 98.678 billion, which showed a substantial increase of 4.8% over the previous fiscal cycle.

For the 2019 period, BMW had a production output of 2,564,025 vehicles in addition to revenue of € 104.210 billion and assets to the value of € 228.034 billion.

Due to the emergence and spread of Covid-19 which resulted in a global pandemic, companies around the world have had to face challenging financial times and BMW is no exception to this with a loss of around 6% in German trading mid-March.

Despite negative impact forecasts and projections, BMW plans to invest over € 30 billion until 2025 with the aim on research and development of future-orientated technologies.

BMW was not the only car and motorcycle manufacturer seeing a steep drop in shares, its key rivals, Volkswagen AG, and Daimler AG, both fell sharply in trading in Germany.

After the German markets had closed, the U.S.-listed American depository receipts for BMW continued a steady trade down.

Due to the widespread pandemic, BMW along with other automakers such as Honda and Toyota, had announced the shut down of its vehicle production with intentions of reopening in April.

As of yet, the only announcement towards opening production lines have been that of BMW Welt, which was set to open on the 4th of May.

The aim currently, according to BMW CEO, is to preserve the health of the balance sheet and in managing the different phases of reopening in different regions but despite this, demand and profit throughout the year has been crippled by the pandemic.

BMW trades its shares on the Frankfurt Stock Exchange (FWB) under the stock symbol BMW.

Data pertaining to an analysis done on the market performance for the first quarter of 2025, which ended in March, profit before tax was € 798 million along with group revenues (inclusive of all segments) of € 23,252 million and EPS amounting to € 0.84.

During the first quarter of 2025, BMW issued over € 3.4 billion in bonds and this has helped greatly in mitigating the negative liquidity effects that have surfaced due to lower delivery volumes brought on by the Covid-19 pandemic.

Keeping this in mind, shareholders who buy or sell shares are yet to expect favourable dividends and returns during the remaining three quarters of 2025.

Consumer Cyclical

Auto Manufacturers

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• Can I buy BMW shares in South Africa?
  Yes, you can.

• How to buy BMW shares
  By simply opening a free account on SA Shares, or by clicking the “Buy this Share” button to get started.

• What is the current share price?
  By clicking on the link provided above, you can view the real-time BMW share price on the platform.

• Is BMW a good share to buy?
  No, not at the present time. The forecast on financials looks significantly bleak with decreases in all areas relating to market performance such as the BMW Group as a whole and within the different segments including automotive, motorcycles and financials.

• Can I buy BMW CFD through SA Shares?
  Yes, you can.