Introduction

 BMW is a company that everyone is familiar with.  From their manufacture of fighter planes in World War II (where their logo hails from) to their current status as one of the high-end vehicles of choice, BMW has had a huge effect on the international history of the automobile industry.  Now however, their expected entrance into the electric market has many customers eager with anticipation as to what might take place next.

 Company Information

 BMW has been around since 1916 and throughout that time they have manufactured many impressive automobiles.  They started as an aircraft manufacturer in the First World War but started to get into motorcycles in the aftermath of that war.  When the Second World War came around, they went back to aircraft manufacturing and of course they continued the manufacture of automobiles which they had added to their ranks in 1929 along with the motorcycles that they had been building up to that point in time.

 In addition to manufacturing their own mass market motorcycles and automobiles, BMW has been responsible for sponsorship of many motor sports and even the construction of their own racing cars.  In truth, there is literally no market within the vehicular manufacturing industry that BMW has not touched in one way or another and that is why many people have been eagerly looking forward to their manufacture of electric vehicles.

 Perhaps another reason why this event is looked forward to with great anticipation is the fact that it has been seen coming for quite some time.  When the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) in the United States created the National Achievement Track (NAT), BMW was one of the members at the signing of the original charter.  Ever since that time, they have pursued hybrid, electric and hydrogen technology and on at least two of those three fronts it appears as though they are ready to bring some designs forward.

 Hybrid Technology

 It is expected that BMW will presently release the ActiveHybrid X6 into mass circulation around the world.  The X6 is BMW’s main entry into the hybrid market and taking a closer look at the car will reveal something that is telling about the BMW approach to this type of technology.  That approach is that cars are built for performance and high-end goals first and only then are topics like fuel economy looked at.

 The reason for this is obvious if you know the typical client base of BMW.  This company does not cater to the larger market of people that includes environmentalists that are interested in purchasing real hybrids that have huge economy gains like the Toyota Prius, but rather it is aimed directly at the high-end market that does not want luxury or performance compromised but would still like to be able to brag that they purchased a hybrid vehicle because of their concern for the environment.

 The X6 hybrid will accomplish both of those goals.  It has amazing statistics with 480 horsepower and very little noticeable drop in performance from the fully gas-powered version of the same vehicle.  That is true even when the X6 runs entirely on electricity, something that the previous version of the hybrid vehicle that was not released worldwide could not do.  That kind of hybrid technology is impressive and at the end of the day it gives this car an efficiency rating of 28 mpg.  That is not terribly impressive compared to other compact hybrids, but when compared with gas cars of a similar size and style it is certainly an improvement on the average market value.

 Electric Technology

 Although the X6 has certainly taken the attention of many of their clients, BMW has announced plans to enter the market with fully electric technology.  In fact, one of the factories of BMW located in the city of Leipzig, Germany, is going to be dedicated to the production of nothing other than electric automobiles with two designs for electric cars set to hit the market under the BMW brand in 2013.

 The first of these releases is the ActiveE which is a BMW automobile that actually looks like a BMW automobile.  That is to say that without actually getting into the car or seeing that the gas tank has been replaced with a plug that you can use to recharge the car, it would be difficult to tell that the ActiveE was actually an electric car. 

 However, with the ability to accelerate from a standstill to 60 mph in less than 9 seconds, it certainly has enough power to be able to satisfy even the demanding high-end clients that BMW is known for targeting.  It is supposed to have a range of 100 miles on a full charge as well, so people driving this car will not really be hampered by choosing it as their automobile.  In short, it is a model electric car that will certainly add more to the reputation of such vehicles just by its presence in the marketplace.

 The second 2013 release that is scheduled from BMW is a little bit different.  It’s called the Megacity Electric Car because it is specifically designed for use within an urban environment.  If you’ve seen what a Smart Car looks like, picture that design reduced even further in order to get better fuel efficiency and you’ve come close to what the Megacity is supposed to do. 

 It has three wheels and only comfortably seats two people (although you can probably shove more in there in emergencies).  One of the most dynamic regenerative breaking systems yet imagined has been put on the car and in total it can do city driving for 160 miles on a single charge.  It is all about economy maximized and while it may look very odd when you look at it in comparison to a normal automobile, the old adage that looks can be deceiving certainly applies here.

 Conclusion

 Although BMW is a high-end manufacturer and most of their environmentally friendly designs naturally point in their direction, cars like the Megacity seem to imply that they will expand into the mass market in that area as well.  Only time will tell how well the 2013 release does however and what those two cars lead to in future decades.