BMW Group announced today production of the i3 electric car has started in Leipzig, the first industrial scale car made largely from carbon fiber reinforced plastic.
The i3 has been a long time in the making. First, BMW used electric conversions of the MINI Cooper and 1 Series to conduct large scale customer tests. In 2011, they came out with the first i3 concept and soon after they started testing their prototypes.
The Leipzig factory has seen some €400 million in investments, resulting in new structures and machinery for the production of BMW i models and 800 new jobs.
The very first i3 off the line will be used as the lead car for the International Berlin Marathon on 29 September and was handed over to German marathon runner Jan Fitschen. For us regular folk around Europe, deliveries will begin in November. The USA and China will only get their share of i3 in early 2014.
“Today represents a milestone in our company’s development,” said BMW production chief Harald Krüger. “We are making history with the BMW i3. Not only is our first electric car about to hit the road, we are also completely redefining sustainability with regard to personal mobility thanks to groundbreaking technologies and processes.”
The Leipzig factory has seen some €400 million in investments, resulting in new structures and machinery for the production of BMW i models and 800 new jobs.
The very first i3 off the line will be used as the lead car for the International Berlin Marathon on 29 September and was handed over to German marathon runner Jan Fitschen. For us regular folk around Europe, deliveries will begin in November. The USA and China will only get their share of i3 in early 2014.
“Today represents a milestone in our company’s development,” said BMW production chief Harald Krüger. “We are making history with the BMW i3. Not only is our first electric car about to hit the road, we are also completely redefining sustainability with regard to personal mobility thanks to groundbreaking technologies and processes.”