BMW announced to day its plans to launch its first series-production electric car to market – the Megacity Electric Vehicle in 2013.
”The Megacity Electric Vehicle will be a zero-emission urban car for the world’s metropolitan regions. It is currently being developed as part of ‘project i’ and will be available from 2013 under a sub-brand of BMW,” German luxury car maker said in a statement.
Details on the finalized Megacity are still sparse, but we do know the car will be manufactured at BMW’s plant in Leipzig, Germany, and will extensively utilize carbon fiber to reduce weight.
BMW has been gleaning insights into the day-to-day use of electric vehicles since mid-2009, when it launched a global field test involving more than 600 MINI E models. During the test phase some 50 MINI E cars are also being delivered to customers in China in 2010. Next year BMW will deliver a fleet of BMW Concept ActiveE to Chinese customers.
The results will filter into the development of electrically powered vehicles for the Chinese market.
BMW gathered its first experiences with electric-drive vehicles some 40 years ago courtesy of a modified BMW 1602 that led the long-distance walking and marathon running events in the 1972 Summer Olympics. In subsequent decades this alternative drive technology was further pursued using many mobile test beds, including the revolutionary BMW E1.
