A BMW carries the roundel in several places and carries several other badges besides,
and the words for them get used interchangeably in listings and parts searches. This page
sorts out which badge is which, what each one signifies, and what BMW’s own brochures say
about them — and it is explicit about the two things it will not tell you, because those
are the two most commonly guessed.
Roundel, emblem, badge: the words
BMW’s own documents use “roundel” for the circular blue-and-white mark and “badge” for
the lettering that identifies the model or the drivetrain. The
2004 Z4 brochure refers to light radiating
“outward from behind BMW’s signature roundel”; the
2009 3 Series brochure describes “xDrive
badges, located to the rear of” the front wheel arches; the
2011 3 Series Convertible brochure
mentions the “335is badge”.
“Emblem” is used loosely for both. In a parts context it almost always means the roundel
— the round one on the bonnet or the boot.
Where the roundel appears
| Location | What it is |
|---|---|
| Bonnet | The largest roundel on the car |
| Boot lid or tailgate | The rear roundel, smaller than the bonnet one |
| Wheel centre caps | One per wheel, the smallest |
| Steering wheel | The horn pad centre |
| Key | On the fob |
| Door sills | As lettering rather than the roundel — see below |
The door sills are the one that is not a roundel. The
2010 6 Series brochure describes a Lights
package that “includes vicinity lighting in the outside mirrors; illuminated door sills with
glowing BMW letters” — the letters, not the badge. On other cars the sill carries a
model or division mark: the 2011 Z4 brochure lists
“M badged door-sill finishers, footrest and gearshift lever” as part of an M package, and
the 2011 7 Series brochure notes “illuminated
BMW Individual door-sill finishers” on Individual cars.
So a door sill tells you which package the car has, and it is worth reading for that
reason on a used purchase.
The badges that are not the roundel
Four other marks appear on a modern BMW, and each means something specific.
The model badge — 330i, M440i, xDrive50i. This encodes the size
class, the position in the range and the fuel type, and it is a much less reliable guide to
the engine than most people assume: a 330i has a 2.0-litre engine, not a 3.0. We take the
system apart in BMW model names explained.
The xDrive badge — on some model years fitted to the flank rather
than the boot. The 2009 3 Series brochure places them “to the rear of” the front wheel
arches; on the wagon of the same year they sit “next to the front” ones. Their absence does
not prove a car is rear-wheel drive, because badges can be removed; the VIN settles it, and
our VIN decoder reads it.
The M badge — the three-colour stripe. This one is worth care,
because the stripe appears on cars that are not M cars. An M340i wears M Performance marks
and is built by BMW AG; an M3 is built by BMW M GmbH and its VIN begins WBS rather than WBA.
The badge does not distinguish them; the VIN does. See the BMW M logo
explained.
The i badge — on the electric cars, where the i sits before the
number. i4, i5, i7, iX are electric; 330i and 540i are petrol. Same letter, opposite sides
of the number, opposite meanings.
The badge on a new BMW is the 2007 design
This causes more confusion than any other point about BMW’s emblem, so it is worth being
unambiguous.
BMW introduced a new flat, two-dimensional logo in March 2020 with a transparent ring
instead of a solid black one. It was widely reported as a redesign of the badge. It is
not on the cars.
BMW stated at the time that the new mark is a media brand mark used in addition to
the existing logo, and that it is not used on the vehicles or on dealership signage. The
roundel on the bonnet of a new BMW is still the three-dimensional 2007 design.
The practical consequence for anyone buying a replacement: a photograph of BMW’s current
communication logo is not a photograph of the part you need. The full sequence of designs,
with dates, is in the BMW logo history.
Replacing one
Roundels come off cars. The bonnet badge sits in grommets and the adhesive-backed types
lift with heat and patience; the wheel centre caps clip; the boot badge is usually adhesive.
Beyond that general shape, the specifics vary by model and model year in ways that this site
cannot verify, so we are not going to publish a step-by-step.
What is worth knowing before you start:
Sizes differ front to rear. The bonnet roundel is the largest on the
car and the boot one is smaller. They are not interchangeable, and a listing that offers one
size “for BMW” is describing one of the two.
Wheel centre caps come in more than one size too. They vary with the
wheel, not only with the model, so a car with aftermarket or optional wheels may not take
the caps listed for its model.
Paint fade is the usual reason. The blue quarters and the black ring
both fade with sun exposure, and a car with one replaced badge and one original will show it
in daylight. Replacing them in pairs is the usual advice for the same reason it is with
tyres.
What this page does not publish
Part numbers. BMW’s parts catalogue is the authoritative source for
these and it is keyed by VIN, because the correct part depends on the exact car. Numbers
circulating on parts sites and forums are frequently right and are not something we can
verify from any document we hold. A BMW dealer will give you the correct number from the
VIN in a minute, free.
Exact dimensions in millimetres. The figures that circulate for bonnet
and boot roundels are widely repeated and we have no first-party source for them. Our
archive holds 194 US-market brochures and none of them prints an emblem dimension —
which is not surprising, since a brochure sells cars rather than parts.
Both of those are exactly the kind of number that would look authoritative on this page
and would be no better sourced than the version you can already find. The
VIN decoder will confirm what the car is; the dealer’s catalogue
turns that into a part number.
Counterfeit and aftermarket
The roundel is a registered trademark, entered in the Trademark Registry of the Imperial
Patents Office under number 221388 on 10 December 1917 and continuously in use since. That
has two consequences worth stating.
Unofficial reproductions exist in quantity, and the usual tells are the ones you would
expect: colour that is not quite BMW’s blue, a ring that is glossy where the original is
matt or the reverse, and lettering with the wrong weight. Comparing against the badge
already on the car is more reliable than comparing against a photograph.
This site does not host downloadable logo files. The roundel belongs to BMW AG, and
distributing the mark is not something an independent archive should do. We are not
affiliated with BMW.
Common questions
What is the BMW emblem called?
The roundel. BMW’s own materials use that word for the circular blue-and-white mark;
“badge” usually refers to the model and drivetrain lettering.
Is the BMW logo a propeller?
No. The quarters are the colours of the Bavarian flag, reversed for trademark reasons.
BMW’s own centenary history dates the propeller reading to advertising of the late 1920s,
years after the 1917 registration. Full account in
what the BMW logo really means.
Did BMW change its emblem in 2020?
It introduced a flat communication logo in March 2020 and stated that it is not used on
vehicles or dealership signage. The badge on a new BMW is the three-dimensional 2007
design.
Are the bonnet and boot roundels the same size?
No. The bonnet one is larger. They are not interchangeable.
What is the BMW part number for the hood emblem?
We do not publish part numbers. The correct part depends on the exact car and a BMW
dealer will supply the number from the VIN.
What does the M badge mean?
The three-colour stripe marks BMW M GmbH or an M Performance specification. It appears on
both, so it does not by itself mean the car is an M3 or M5 — a full M car’s VIN begins
WBS rather than WBA.
Sources
- Original US-market BMW brochures held in this site’s archive, quoted directly: the 2004 Z4 for “BMW’s signature roundel”, the 2009 3 Series for xDrive badge placement, the 2010 6 Series for illuminated door sills with BMW letters, the 2011 Z4 for M-badged sill finishers and the 2011 7 Series for BMW Individual sill finishers.
- BMW Group Media Information 03/2016 — 100 years of fascination for mobility (PDF): the trademark entry of 10 December 1917 under number 221388.