BMW AG has officially filed a registration for a new trademark and logo for their project-i vehicles such as the electric Megacity car and hybrid Vision EfficientDynamics sports car. The trademarks i1, i2, i3, i4, i5, i6, i7, i8, and i9 have also been registered.
Autonews recently posted a great summary of BMW’s project i and Megacity electric vehicle, expected in 2013, including analysis of vehicle structure, materials, manufacturing, recycling, and consumer financing.
The mobility of the future is under construction in Leipzig. The BMW Group is expanding its plant in Leipzig to make it the first location in Germany equipped to handle the large-scale production of zero-emission electric cars. In the period up to 2013, around €400 million will be invested at the plant in new buildings and machinery for the production of the Megacity Vehicle (MCV). Some 800 jobs will be created in the process. The plant expansion was launched on Friday by German Chancellor Dr Angela Merkel and Dr Norbert Reithofer, Chairman of the Board of Management of BMW AG, together with the Prime Minister of the German state of Saxony, Stanislaw Tillich, and the Governor of Washington state in the US, Chris Gregoire.
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BMW is not expecting to earn any profits with its first generation electric vehicles, such as the upcoming Megacity Vehicle, until possibly the second product cycle. BMW’s conventional drive cars will subsidize the company’s foray into electrical cars.
Project i now has an online presence. The BMW Group has launched a website for Project i, the think tank program for developing environmentally conscious solutions for congested city motoring. The site is located at www.project-i.com and will feature information and news on BMW’s automotive sustainability development. Facebook and Twitter pages for Project i have also gone online.
The internationally oriented, English-language website provides a detailed overview of the approaches and solutions regarding the challenges of sustainable mobility – from the basic vision of electric vehicles on specific test vehicles like the MINI E and the BMW ActiveE to the revolutionary LifeDrive concept of the Mega City Vehicles.
In addition to the official website, twitter and facebook pages for Project i have also been launched at www.twitter.com/bmwprojecti … CONTINUED
BMW design chief Adrian Van Hooydonk speaks about the upcoming Megacity vehicle coming in 2013, BMW’s first volume production car to use carbon fiber in the structure and panels. He says that the car will be attractive but not controversial and will be priced at a premium to the Tata Nanos of the world.
Andrei Arvarvarii has produced this rendering of the future all electric BMW Megacity Vehicle. Based on the official BMW Megacity concept teaser image, this interpretation seems to inject some production practicality, such as a higher roof, door handles, smaller wheels, and antenna. But overall, it stays true to the BMW teaser image.
BMW is the exclusive vehicle partner of the 2012 London Summer Olympic Games and it will be using this position to showcase its Megacity electric cars, in nearly production form. The global viewership and exposure of the Olympics presents BMW with a unique opportuity to showcase the Megacity car on a huge global scale.
The only Megacity car variation shown so far is a carbon fiber passenger cell, 4-seat, rear wheel drive, 100% electric vehicle, with its motor underneath the vehicle floor. Future The Megacity line of vehicles is expected to become a sub-brand (perhaps reviving the Isetta nameplate) under the BMW moniker and will likely be on sale in 2013.
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The Megacity Vehicle (MCV), due to come onto the market in 2013 will soon be the world’s first volume-produced vehicle with a passenger cell made from carbon fiber. The weight savings will allow an offset of the extra 250 to 350 kg of weight typically found in electrically powered vehicles
