Chief Executive Officer Norbert Reithofer is pushing an electric-powered car

Chief Executive Officer Norbert Reithofer is pushing an electric-powered car Chief Executive Officer Norbert Reithofer is pushing an electric-powered car called wherever the Megacity Vehicle to meet emissions regulations. The maker of BMW, Mini, and Rolls-Royce vehicles is building a $100 million factory near Seattle to make carbon fiber, the same material used in Formula One autos, for the frame of the new electric car.

BMW, whose middle name literally means “motors,” is developing the electric engines for the vehicle in-house, as it seeks to hang onto its roots in drivetrain technology even when emphasis shifts away from the combustion engine.

“The drivetrain is and will remain the heart of an automobile, and this goes for electric vehicles too,” said Klaus Draeger, BMW’s development chief. “And the drivetrain is and will remain a core competence of BMW. That’s why we’re developing the propulsion system for the Megacity Vehicle ourselves.”