Bmw Pestle

BMW: The Ultimate Driving Machine

This paper will analyse BMW’s position in the European auto industry by using PESTEL Analysis model, which involves identifying Political, Economic, Social, and Technological influences on an organisation (Johnson & Scholes 2001).

BMW(Bayerische Motoren Werke) is founded and based in Munich (Bavaria, Germany) in 1916 and employs nearly 100,000 people. BMW entered into business following a restructuring of the Rapp Motorenwerke aircraft engine manufacturing firm in 1917. After the end of World War I, BMW was forced to cease aircraft engine production by the terms of the Versailles Armistice Treaty. The company shifted to motorcycle production in 1923 once the restrictions of the treaty started to be lifted, followed by automobiles in 1928–29. In 2006, the BMW group produced 1,366,838 four-wheeled vehicles, which were manufactured in five countries. In 2010, it manufactured 1,481,253 four-wheeled vehicles and 112,271 motorcycles under both the BMW and Husqvarna brands (Johnson, Richard Alan, 2005). BMW also owns and produces the Mini brand, and is the parent company of Rolls-Royce Motor Cars. It produces motorcycles under BMW Motorrad and Husqvarna brands.(www.bmw.de)

In 1992, BMW acquired a large stake in California based industrial design studio DesignworksUSA, which they fully acquired in 1995. In 1994, BMW bought the British Rover Group and owned it for six years. By 2000, Rover was making huge losses and BMW decided to sell the combine. The MG and Rover brands were sold to the Phoenix Consortium to form MG Rover, while Land Rover was taken over by Ford ( Albrecht Rothacher, 2004).

Sales of BMW brand cars rose by 14,6% to 1.224.280 units in 2010, (2009; 1.068.770 units). BMW's car sales in the first three months of 2011 surged 21% year-on-year to 382,758 vehicles. Germany remained the largest single market, with 267,160 BMW and MINI brand cars sold. In fact, BMW was the only premium brand to have recorded an increase in new...