The BMW roundel uses the colours of Bavaria, where the company is based.

BMW — Bayerische Motoren Werke — was founded in Munich, the capital of Bavaria, and its circular badge has carried blue and white since 1917. The colours are those of the Bavarian state flag, appearing in reversed order because trademark rules at the time forbade the direct use of state symbols in a commercial mark.

A popular later story holds that the roundel depicts a spinning aircraft propeller, a nod to BMW’s origins as an engine maker. The company has said that image came from a 1929 advertisement and was never the badge’s original meaning.