Megacity Vehicle

The concept version of the 2014 BMW i3 unveiled today in Frankfurt shows just how radical a change BMW has made from its legacy of gasoline-powered, front-engine, rear-drive sporty vehicles. For one, it’s entirely powered by electricity. The flat lithium-ion battery pack is built into the...

BMW is holding a global press conference in Frankfurt, Germany tomorrow to promote its new i division aimed at sustainable motoring solutions for the future. Our own green car expert John Voelcker is on his way to Frankfurt as you read this and will be bringing us all the information direct from...

The upcoming BMW i3, the car formerly known as the Megacity Vehicle and the first production all-electric car from BMW, is set to revolutionize the way mainstream cars are engineered and built, with most of its internal structure and body being composed of lightweight composite materials such as...

Not so long ago, the notion of luxury German brand BMW hiring an engineer from General Motors might have been a stretch. The company prefers to promote engineers from within its Munich engineering headquarters. But reports that Frank Weber, the lead engineer of the 2011 Chevrolet Volt team, has...

Auto marketers and PR people have a love-hate relationship with the Internet. It lets them connect directly with users and fans, but it also transmits facts, leaks, and rumors at lightning speed. That meant that this morning's BMW press conference, telecast live from BMW Welt in a snowy Munich...

Of all the electric vehicles planned by major automakers, few are more eagerly awaited than the BMW MegaCity 'i' all-electric urban car, expected to go into production late in 2013 or early in 2014. It's a BMW, which means it will be sporty and handle well. It's likely to be the smallest BMW since...

We've loved the concept of the Audi A1 e-Tron concept since its launch at the 2010 Geneva Motor Show last March. It's a range-extended electric vehicle (like the 2011 Chevy Volt) that uses a tiny Wankel rotary engine to run a generator that produces electricity to power the car once its lithium-ion...

BMW is pressing forward with its plans to build a production version of the striking plug-in hybrid concept car it called Vision Efficient Dynamics, unveiled at the Frankfurt Motor Show in September 2009. According to reports filtering out of Germany, the model that goes on sale in October 2013 may...

The BMW "MegaCity" carbon-fiber all-electric car, scheduled for launch in 2013, may be the most radical BMW in decades. BMW had confirmed that this first production electric car to wear the BMW badge would be the first of a sub-brand within the make, much as its "M" series of performance editions...

BMW is moving full steam ahead with its plans to offer new, radically more fuel efficient vehicles in the next decade. Today, the company said it would put its striking Vision EfficientDynamics concept car into production, to be offered for sale starting in October 2013. And, it signed off on an...

BMW's plans for the future have been dramatic and decidedly high-tech of late, including the U.S.-bound 1-Series ActiveE and the BMW Vision EfficientDynamics concept, itself headed to production in the next few years. Today, BMW has released a teaser for an all-electric car under the project name...

If You Ask These Two Automakers, Electrification Is Where It’s At

We don't know what it looks like yet, but another detail emerged yesterday on BMW's upcoming tiny MegaCity urban electric vehicle: It will be built out of carbon fiber that is partly made in the U.S. BMW will partner with composites expert SGL Group to construct a new plant in Moses Lake...

BMW has now produced two electric cars: the two-seat Mini E, of which 600 examples are on test in the U.S., Europe, and U.K., and the new ActiveE Concept unveiled at last month's Detroit Auto Show, which will be similarly tested starting next year. But these are just preludes. The company will...