MOSES LAKE – The 2014 BMW i3 electric car, built with carbon fiber produced in Moses Lake and hydro-electric power from the Columbia River, was unveiled simultaneously Monday during New York, London and Beijing events.
The carbon fiber-reinforced plastic is produced in a manufacturing plant at 8782 Randolph Road Northeast.
The Moses Lake facility, a joint venture of German-based companies SGL Automotive Group and BMW, produces the carbon fiber for BMW's new line of lighter, more energy efficient electric cars.
It is the auto industry's first mass produced carbon fiber-reinforced plastic car body mounted on an aluminum chassis, BMW representatives said.
The 60-acre Moses Lake SGL facility employs about 50 and includes a 110,308-square-foot process building and a 46,781-square-foot office/warehouse building. It could grow by another 60 acres to accommodate six buildings and 12 production lines over the next five years, SGL representatives said.
The plant was built in 2010 at a cost of about $100 million.
The Moses Lake factory produces spools of carbon fiber composites that are shipped to Germany.
The plug-in BMW i3 is selling in the U.S. for $41,350, before federal or state incentives that could bring the price to as low as $28,775.
The car's 170 horsepower and 184 pound-foot of torque hybrid-synchronous electric motor, developed and produced by BMW, is electrified by a 22-kWh lithium-ion battery, good for 80-100 miles.
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