BMW Megacity Electric Car Adds to Brand's Green Lineup Choices

The BMW Megacity electric car is the latest environmentally-conscious vehicle in the German brand’s suddenly much greener portfolio. After spending decades building its reputation as the producers of the ‘Ultimate Driving Machine,’ a PR construct that focused more on high end luxury and impressive performance than ecological awareness, BMW has in the last 12 months dramatically expanded its green efforts. The announcement of a soon-to-be-available electric car serves to attract additional attention to BMW’s other alternative fuel programs, which also include diesel, hybrid and hydrogen vehicles.

What does the Megacity electric car (or Megacity EV) have to offer everyday drivers? BMW promises that the Megacity EV will provide practical daily transportation without many of the limitations currently imposed on pure electric vehicles. The hatchback will seat five passengers and will be approximately the same size as a Volkswagen Golf or Audi A3 – larger than the urban runabouts typically found in the electric hatch segment. Interestingly, the Megacity electric car will also be built on a rear-wheel drive platform, which should give it an extra dose of the pleasing driving dynamics that are also a rarity in the predominantly front-wheel drive electric market.

The range of the BMW offering is rated at approximately 160 miles per charge, thanks in part to the decision to use carbon fiber and other lightweight materials throughout its design. The low mass of the Megacity EV, combined with its rear-mounted engine should serve to give the vehicle the type of performance that BMW is used to selling to its customers – only without the growl of a gasoline-powered engine to go along with it.

The Megacity electric car is meant to hit the market in 2013, and company spokespeople have stated that it will serve as the automaker’s first commercially produced electric vehicle. This turn of phrase is interesting to those already familiar with the MINI E program, in which BMW produced and distributed a limited number (600) of electric MINI coupes to drivers around the world. It would seem that the Megacity EV will make it to market ahead of the MINI offering, which could point to BMW’s desire to build a new brand of vehicles composed exclusively of EV’s as opposed to dual marketing both gasoline and electric MINI options.

The new Megacity brand is definitely an exciting prospect for electric car fans eager for a fresh competitor to hit the field. However, it will not be available for at least the next two years. What other eco-conscious choices does BMW offer drivers who are interested in reducing their carbon footprint?

Currently, BMW’s range of available alternative fuel vehicles is fairly broad. Hybrid gasoline / electric options include the ActiveHybrid X6 full-size sport-utility vehicle and the ActiveHybrid 750i and 750Li, each of which offer a healthy dose of horsepower to go with their battery-assisted drivetrains. These range-topping models are supported by a cast of more affordable diesel-power BMW’s. The BMW 335d installs a turbocharged diesel engine under the hood of the popular BMW 3 Series sedan, while the BMW X5 xDrive35d offers the same engine wrapped in the larger BMW X5 sport-utility shell.

All four of these vehicles provide excellent fuel mileage and reduced emissions with almost no sacrifice when it comes to performance. The addition of the BMW Megacity EV to this portfolio of green-friendly automobiles has helped to make BMW one of the leading European automakers in the field of these types of technologies. By 2013, it seems likely that BMW will be able to serve as a one-stop shop for buyers at any level of the market looking to reduce their carbon footprint in style.