BMW Carbon Lets Autos Follow Road Bikes to Lightness: Cars

Bayerische Motoren Werke AG is spending $100 million to gain an edge on German luxury rivals by entering the commodities business.

BMW is building its own carbon fiber factory, the first carmaker to do so, to secure supply of the lightweight material and lower expenses by refining the production process. Even though carbon fiber has cost 20 times as much as steel, BMW is embracing the material to reduce the weight of its electric cars and counteract the added heft of their batteries.