"Maybe you do not make money with this technology during the first product cycle. Here, the conventional car has to cross-subsidize new technologies," said BMW CEO Norbert Reithofer in a ceremony at the Institute of Automotive Industry in Nuertingen, Germany as quotes from Auto News , on Tuesday (26/10/2010).
Even so, BMW by Reithofer have Megacity electric car concept will still produce an electric car and took him to the market beginning in 2013.
"The electric car will be expensive vehicles in the first period," he said.
Megacity which will become the model of subcompact car will be built in Leipzig, Germany and will have a passenger compartment made of carbon fiber. This material is very light but very expensive. That is the reason why these materials until now used in race cars and supercars.
BMW is building electric cars starting from the drivetrain alone until the battery to high voltage storage unit. That's what differentiates the BMW with other car manufacturers who usually buy the technology from other vendors for the cell in the battery although BMW is still supplied by a company called SB LiMotive.
In addition to Megacity project, SB LiMotive will also provide a battery cell to the test car, the BMW 1-Series Concept ActiveE EV.
So while the price of electric cars are still expensive and will not be trusted
bring in a profit for the company, according to Reithofer BMW will continue to
relies on car sales by gasoline and diesel engines. That way, the overall profitability will not suffer too badly.
"So we'll have a lengthy transition. And at this time, the conventional technology, providing cross-subsidies for new technologies," added Reithofer.
Reithofer estimates that by 2020, electricity output of BMW vehicles will have a market share of 5 to 15 percent of the total electric vehicle market.