In the Global Auto Industry it is believed that one should be a trend setter rather than a trend follower and following this belief are the companies like General Motors, Ford and now BMW who have started working on projects focusing on vehicles meant for future cities.
According to a study conducted by the United Nations after a decade or two the scenario of the cities will worsen with nearly 5 billion people(Estimated one megacity population by 2030) on the roads and no space for driving cars and to overcome these problems in the future the designers have started working on vehicles which are built better,require low space and are affordable for the masses.
Starting the race is GM, who some time back showcased the EN-V followed by Ford START Concept and now BMW has presented the preliminary sketches of its concept called the BMW Mega City Vehicle(MCV).
Adrian van Hooydonk, director of BMW Group Design said that its the technology and material they are using to bring it to reality and the aim is to build a sustainable yet premium car.Mr. van Hooydonk added,“They are highly emotional, with refined materials and high level of attention to detail. But there was a belief that premium and sustainable could not go together.”
They have assembled a special group 15 designers comprising of exterior and interior designers together with the engineers in order to complete the project in a short time.The team leader is Mr.Benoit Jacob, a French designer who designed a successful small car,Dacia Logan when working with Renault and now works for BMW.
The design team has used CRPF(Carbon Fiber Reinforced Plastics) since it is very light and can translate easily into a design as steel does.Mr. van Hooydonk said “It is sometimes hard for designers to get their heads around the change.The chance to work on such a new formula is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity,”
General Specifications Of BMW Mega City Vehicle
The vehicle is a zero-emission one and accommodates four passengers. It would be a rear-wheel drive car generating a maximum power of 150 hp (112 kW / 152 PS) through an electric motor powered by a 35 kWh lithium-ion battery. According to BMW this vehicle will deliver a mileage of at least 100 miles (161 km) along with a top speed of 95 mph (153 km/hr).
BMW also has plans to launch two more variants by 2015 and 2017 which will be known as ICV (Intra-city Vehicle) and UCV (Urban Commuter Vehicle).While the ICV will be a two door product accommodating 2 passengers, the UCV will get a longer wheelbase,four doors accommodating 5 passengers.
