BMW in partnership with Boeing
by AllAutoExperts | 17 December, 2012
The BMW company has announced its intent to use carbon fiber on a large scale, for all its models. A first common component found on all future models of the Bavarian manufacturer, including the EVs i8 and i3, will be a safety cell. It will be built with carbon fiber to reduce the total weight, but also to increase the rigidity of the structure.
To implement this plan, BMW has already signed a partnership with SGL Group and established a factory to produce these components in the United States. But BMW still needs mass production solutions capable of reducing costs that would impact the final price of the vehicles.
The Germans decided to enter into a partnership with another manufacturer, Boeing. The two companies will work together to find effective methods of production and to find a solution to recycle carbon fiber.
Currently, this material can't be recycled, which means that future models that will destroy or damage in road accidents will raise the issue of debris storage. Boeing is also interested in such a solution since its new Dreamliner 787 is made of carbon fiber in a proportion of 55%.
