BMW i3 total electric car to use a lighter carbon fiber frame

The BMW’s total electric car, BMW i3, went on sale in Germany in November and will go on sale in the U.S. in the first half of 2014. What’s more important about the car is that it uses a frame made of carbon fiber, instead of traditional aluminum, that is made in a $100 million factory located in Moses Lake, in the Washington State in the U.S. This is a new revolution in the car industry since it started all aluminum frames in 1980s.

One of the reasons why BMW total electrical car uses carbon fiber is to get lighter frame to house heavy weight created by batteries that can power a reasonable drive range. The approximate weight of the i3’s carbon fiber comes to 330 pounds far less than traditional aluminum frame. Due to use of a carbon frame, the i3 weighs 20 percent less than Leaf from Nissan Motor. Only Audi comes even close to BMW total carbon fiber frame; it uses a combination of aluminum, steel and carbon fiber for its vehicles. However, it adds 20 times more cost to the vehicle’s price. BMW intends to use carbon fiber parts in its 7 Series too.