#Product Trends
Carbon Free and Carbon Fiber: BMW i3 in Leipzig
When BMW decided to build a new all-electric production vehicle, they knew there was little point in creating a sustainable car unless they followed the same philosophy at every stage of process. To achieve this, they required the right facility.
A Sustainable Leap in Leipzig
Zero-emission cars often hide a dark secret—the environmental cost of building an electric vehicle sometimes outweighs the sustainability benefits. BMW wanted to avoid this when they planned their i models. Jochen Mueller is BMW’s Head of Communications at Leipzig, Germany, where the BMW i3 was built. He was on the board during the entire planning phase. For the company, it’s the world’s first production model designed with sustainability at every stage.
It makes no sense to us to build a sustainable vehicle and not have sustainability throughout the entire value chain. The plant is 11 years old. At the time of opening, it had the most up-to-date infrastructure.
BMW still invested €400 million in new structures and machinery, such as purchasing 100 robotic arms for assembly and installing a new production line specifically for the i3.
