BMW and local carbon products maker SGL have announced they will invest an initial US$100m to build a carbon fibre plant in the US.

BMW wants to replace steel and aluminium with carbon in electric car models such as the upcoming Megacity car, in order to make them lighter. Weight [reduction] is very important for electric cars, CFO Friedrich Eichiner told Financial Times Deutschland.

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The plant in Moses Lake, near Seattle, Washington state, will focus on supplying parts for the Megacity – a car which willl be aimed particularly at buyers in large cities. BMW plans to start its production by 2015.

BMW and SGL set up a joint venture in October 2009.

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