BMW announced last week that its Megacity Vehicle will launch in markets in 2013. The Megacity Vehicle will be a zero-emission urban vehicle and will use extensive amounts of carbon fiber to reduce weight. The German automaker also plans to use carbon fiber across its lineup.
“We will be the first manufacturer to take carbon fiber to effectively high volume,” global sales head Ian Robertson said.
The factory in Moses Lake, about two hours west of Spokane, will get a $100-million initial investment and will create at least 80 new jobs, the companies said. The site, which will use renewable hydropower, was also attractive because of the state’s “competitive energy costs,” existing utilities, favorable infrastructure and agreeable local government.
The vehicle will be assembled in Leipzig, Germany, along with the BMW 1 series and the BMW X1. But the raw material for the carbon fibers will be produced in Japan before the Moses Lake facility converts it. Then, everything moves to Germany, where a station in Wackersdorf will process the fibers and a plant in Landshut assembles them.
