Which company was renamed Bayerische Motoren Werke in April 1917?

Rapp Motorenwerke was renamed Bayerische Motoren Werke in April 1917. The Munich aircraft-engine company had been founded by Karl Rapp in 1913, but Rapp left the business as its engineering direction and management changed.

The new name, usually abbreviated BMW, reflected the company’s Bavarian location and its work making aircraft engines. Engineer Max Friz’s BMW IIIa, introduced during the First World War, became especially important because its high-altitude performance made it valuable to German military aviation. Government orders then helped the young company expand rapidly.

A common source of confusion is BMW’s official founding date. BMW generally treats 7 March 1916—the registration of Bayerische Flugzeugwerke—as its corporate origin, while the BMW name itself first appeared in 1917 when Rapp Motorenwerke changed its name. In 1922, the BMW name and engine-making operations moved to Bayerische Flugzeugwerke, which was then renamed BMW AG. Thus, the 1917 company was the direct predecessor in name, while the modern corporate entity followed a complicated legal and asset transfer.