On Friday 6 May the two millionth motorcycle left the assembly line of the BMW plant in Berlin Spandau. Since 1969, BMW motorcycles have been produced in the factory in Berlin Spandau for export all over the world and this significant milestone in the company's history was marked by a special ceremony attended by the Governing Mayor of Berlin, Klaus Wowereit, and numerous invited guests.

Hermann Bohrer - Head of the BMW factory in Berlin

The special anniversary bike, a R1200GS, was unveiled to a selection of VIPs and journalists by streetbike freestyle legend Chris Pfeiffer, after which it was handed over to René Gurka, Manager of Berlin Partner GmbH to be raffled in the industry quiz Ich bin ein Berliner as part of the 'be Berlin' campaign to promote the city.

"I'm really proud to present the two millionth BMW motorcycle here today. I have a really busy schedule but this kind of thing doesn't happen every day so I really wanted to be here," said Pfeiffer, who then parked up the GS and leapt onto his F800R stunt bike to perform a special show in front of the invited guests and members of the Berlin plant workforce.

Always the professional, Chris showed many new tricks, and one real surprise - a burnout with his rear tyre rubber spelling out '2,000,000' on the asphalt.

The mood was one of celebration and recognition of this significant achievement of two million machines leaving the assembly lines in Berlin.

"BMW has always remained loyal to Berlin when others left the city," said the Governing Mayor of Berlin, Klaus Wowereit. "Together, BMW and Berlin have been through thick and thin and we will continue to do that successfully. With this generous donation of a special R 1200 GS and its involvement in the 'be Berlin' campaign, BMW is supporting our aim to improve Berlin's perception as an attractive, innovative and future-oriented city."

From left to right: Chris Pfeifer, Hermann Bohrer, Hendrik von Kuenheim and Klaus Wowereit

In the course of the presentation ceremony, Hendrik von Kuenheim, Head of BMW Motorrad, said: "The BMW Group is committed to motorcycling and its big tradition within the company. BMW motorcycles embody 'sheer riding pleasure' in its most direct form and these machines are ambassadors of the BMW brand - and at the same time ambassadors of Berlin - all over the world. BMW bikes are exported with 'Berlin's air in the tyres' to 130 countries and the long-standing relationship between Berlin and the BMW Group looks set to continue for a long time."

Pfeiffer 'spells out' 2,000,000 with a spectacular burnout

With 1.900 employees the BMW factory in Berlin produces up to 510 motorcycles a day from all model series, as well as about 24,000 brake discs for the car division. The annual motorcycle output in 2010 amounted to 97,076 machines, whereas in the first year of production in 1969, a total of 12,000 motorcycles were produced in Berlin.

"Berlin will remain the heart of BMW's motorcycle manufacture. We are investing about 30 million Euros in our factory per annum to continue to be competitive and in front," said Hermann Bohrer, Head of the BMW factory in Berlin.