BMW has something very exciting in stores for us. BMW’s forthcoming line of Megacity electric vehicles may hit the International market in the year 2013. The company is using the Beijing International Auto Show so as to notify the media and public and also gets ready to embark on the Chinese section of its Mini E test phase.
50 selected clients in China are listed to originate testing the all-electric edition of the Mini Cooper later this year, while others, will obtain the opportunity to test a fleet of cars, that will be based on the BMW ActiveE Concept in 2011 under the Project name ‘i campaign’. This will start its sales effect from 2013.
According to BMW, its upcoming electric vehicle will be the first mass-produced vehicle that relies heavily on the use of carbon fiber for its structure, which should help keep the vehicle lightweight, thereby improving its performance and range. Hence in spite of a heavy set of batteries used, it will have a weight that is lower than vehicles, which are already in the market.The lower the weight, the farther the all-electric motor vehicle can voyage, on a single charge.
Megacity EV will be launched under a new sub-brand, much in the same way that the automaker has used its Mini branch to enter into lower market segments without taking the chance of tarnishing the well-earned reputation of its corporate roundel. In related news, BMW has also said that it will show off an electric 5 Series sedan in Beijing. Called the Echo, the EV was assembled at BMW’s Shanyang plant in China with cooperation from the government-backed Tongji University. There are currently no plans to put the vehicle into production, but the automaker hopes to gauge how advanced China’s home-grown electric vehicle technology is at present.
According to an Autocar report, Megacity will have a range of roughly 160 miles per charge, and about 20 percent of that range will be due to an aggressive regenerative braking system. Further, BMW does not plan to lease its battery packs separately, as some automakers have hinted is a possibility. Instead, BMW believes that its packs will still have 85 percent of their stated capacity after the car’s lifespan is complete, making the power sources valuable on the used market to power companies.
Tags: beijing auto show, carbon fiber, electric vehicle technology, electric vehicles, lightweight, mini cooper, regenerative braking system, roundel, test phase, year 2013