BMW partnership to invest 100 million Euros to produce carbon-fiber

Highlights
The role of carbon-fiber has changed significantly in recent times. Car manufacturers have looked upto this substance because it contains properties like high stiffness, high tensile strength, low weight, high chemical resistance, high temperature tolerance and low thermal expansion. No wonder we see carbon fiber being used in supercars, hypercars and even some of the mainstream cars.
BMW infact has been one of the foremost users of carbon fiber and it helps in shedding a lot of kgs from the overall weight of the car. Considering how big a reole carbon fiber will play in the future, BMW and carbon-fiber producer SGL are preparing to invest more than 100 million euros to build a new plant and double the joint production of automotive carbon fiber.
This decision is a wise one as BMW prepares to roll out both the i3 and i8 (which extensively use carbon fiber components). The company also uses it in its M-series sports cars which make them agile, quick and less fatty.
In this day and age, carbon fiber will not merely be a material which makes its way into supercars and hypercars. As said earlier, the technology will soon trickle down into mainstream usage. Price was always a defining factor and this investment from BMW will help in lowering costs by a certain percentage.
Last Updated on February 18, 2014