BMW Releases Details on Branded EV
Original Source: http://www.sustainablelifemedia.com
Author: Thomas Miner
Original Publication Date: July 6, 2010
July 6, 2010 – BMW finally revealed details, although included no visuals, on its first planned battery-powered car last week which will reach the market in 2013. The company describes it as the first mega-city vehicle that has been designed from the start as an all electric, as opposed to adaptations of fossil-fuel powered vehicles.
The company says it has already gone through the crash-test phases with the chassis and frame for the vehicle, and will be opening a factory this month in Washington to manufacture the carbon fiber passenger compartment. By producing much of the car’s structure from carbon fiber, BMW will be able to offset the additional weight of the batteries needed for power.
Unlike many of its competitors, BMW will sell their all-electric through a sub-brand, which according to the New York Times, will most likely contain the initials BMW. The company has some experience with electric brand management, as they currently offer an electric under the “Mini” brand. BMW’s major competitor in Europe, Daimler, does not associate their “smart car” with their corporate brand at all.
All the company offered by way of visuals was the concept sketch below. But with the company claiming to have designed the first car truly built around the concept of electricity and not adapted from a fossil fuel design, anything is possible.
