Well, when the whole world is shifting its preferences towards everything green, car manufacturers are following a similar trend in their technologies too. Major global car manufacturers have been showing an all-time high interest in manufacturing environmentally friendly vehicles, be it a hybrid system or a fully electric vehicle.

Ok, we will cut the fuss and get to the point. BMW had earlier announced that it will launch its first-ever full production vehicle, MegaCity, to run solely on electricity stored in a battery. And now, BMW says that the MegaCity urban electric vehicle will be built of carbon fibre.

BMW has partnered with the composites expert SGL Group to construct a new plant in Moses Lake, Washington. This plant will manufacture lightweight carbon-fiber materials for the auto industry applications. The total cost of the plant will likely exceed $100 million.

And BMW has further emphasised on its green preferences by choosing to build the plant in Washington. BMW says that the energy to be consumed comes from hydroelectric generators, which makes it far more environment friendly than in other locations. Nevertheless, various components for the MegaCity are transported from other countries. The raw feedstock to make carbon fibres is coming from Japan. The carbon fibres are then fabricated at the Moses Lake plant after which they’re flown to Germany, where they’re processed into lightweight fabrics in Wackersdorf.

Carbon fibre is lightweight and hence it can radically reduce the energy consumption of a vehicle. Building the tiny MegaCity electric car on carbon fibre will enhance its green quotient, but what about the carbon footprint of transporting the materials across three continents and the various plants. BMW won’t say anything on that topic yet.

The MegaCity is likely to be launched in mid-2013 as a 2014 model, and sold as a “sub-brand” of BMW. It will be sold primarily in over-crowded cities. The MegaCity is expected to be a four-seat, three-door hatchback.

All MegaCity cars will run solely on electricity stored in a 16-kilowatt-hour lithium-ion battery pack. Cells come from a joint venture of German parts maker Bosch and Korean conglomerate Samsung.


BMW has now produced two electric cars: the two seat Mini E, which is currently going through tests in the US, UK and Europe, and the new Active E Concept which was unveiled at the last month’s Detroit Auto Show.