Bmw Outline

I. History

A. 1913- Karl Rapp opened and aircraft-engine design shop near Munich

B. 1917- He names it Bayerische Motoren Werke (BMW)

C. Post World War I- Germany’s aircraft production was forced to a halt. As a result BMW shifted from aircraft engines to railway brakes.

D. 1923- BMW debuted its first motorcycle the R32

E. 1928- BMW starts making automobiles after buying a small-car company by the name of Fahrzeugwerke Eisenach

F. 1933- BMW launched a line of longer cars

G. Mid 1930s- BMW started building aircraft engines for Hitler’s Luftwaffe

H. 1941- BMW stopped all auto and motorcycle production

I. Post World War II- BMW’s factories were dismantled and the company was forced to survive making kitchen and garden equipment

J. 1948- They introduced a one-cylinder motorcycle that sold well in post WWII Germany

K. 1950’s- BMW’s were large and expensive, sales dropped, and they escaped demise by launching a seven-foot, three-wheeled “bubble car” called the Isetta

L. 1959- Herbert Quandt bought BMW for $1 million and changed the focus towards sports sedans

M. 1961- The “New Range” of BMW’s were first released

N. 1966- Success of the sports sedans led BMW to but automaker Hans Glass

O. 1970’s- European exports soared and BMW set up a distribution subsidiary in the US. They also started to produce larger cars that put them on par with Mercedes-Benz

P. 1980’s- Japanese motorcycles and poor demand started to hurt BMW’s sales

Q. 1986- BMW launches its luxury vehicles and US sales peaked

R. 1992- BMW outsold Mercedes in Europe for the first time and becomes the first European carmaker to operate a US plant since Volkswagen pulled out in 1988

S. 1994- BMW buys carmaker Rover from British Aerospace and Honda and introduced the four-wheel-drive Discovery

T. 1996- BMW launches Highlander Land Rover to meet growing demands for 4x4 utility vehicles

U. 1998- BMW loses their bid to buy Rolls-Royce but won the brand name and logo for $66 million (usage starts in 2003)

V. 2000- BMW sells its Land Rover SUV operations to Ford in a deal worth about $2.7 billion, and also hands over its Rover Cars operations and MG brand to Phoenix Consortium

W. 2001- BMW launches its MINI brand in the UK (other European nations soon follow)

X. 2002- BMW brings the MINI Cooper to the US

Y. 2003- BMW takes control of the Roll-Royce brand name and beings making Rolls-Royce Phantoms

II. Macroeconomic Variables

A. Demographic

1. High prices available to middle and upper class

2. Average age across all models is 47 years old

B. Economic

1. Multiple Products and Multiple Market Segments

2. Increased demand for gas efficient cars

C. Ecological

1. Oil Issues

2. Pollution

D. Technological

1. Hybrid Cars

2. www.bmw.com

E. Political

1. Safety Regulations

2. Pollution Regulations

F. Cultural

1. European

2. American

III. Task Environment Analysis

A. Markets

1. Sells to over 150 countries worldwide

B. Customers

1. Middle to Upper Class who purchase for