BMW is the car manufacturer associated with a blue-and-white roundel often mistaken for a spinning propeller.
BMW stands for Bayerische Motoren Werke, or Bavarian Motor Works. The logo’s blue and white quarters are generally understood to reference the colors of Bavaria, the German state where the company originated. The roundel developed from the emblem of Rapp Motorenwerke, the aircraft-engine company that preceded BMW.
The propeller explanation became popular because a 1929 BMW advertisement placed the logo inside a rotating aircraft propeller. BMW had produced aircraft engines, so the imagery fit the company’s history and helped reinforce the association. However, the logo itself predates that advertisement by 12 years, meaning the propeller interpretation was a later marketing idea rather than the original meaning.
The circular emblem is commonly called the BMW roundel. BMW has updated its visual identity over time, including a flatter digital version introduced in 2020. Volkswagen, Audi and Mercedes-Benz all have distinctive circular or geometric badges, but none uses BMW’s blue-and-white quartered roundel.