Christoph Stark (middle), president and CEO of BMW China, signed an agreement with representatives from the China Automotive Technology and Research Center and State Grid Corporation of China to cooperate in the field test of MINI E.

BMW Group will introduce its Megacity Vehicle - a tailor-made solution for large cities - in 2013, the luxury carmaker announced yesterday in Beijing.

"The Megacity Vehicle will be the BMW Group's first production car to feature all-electric drive," said Norbert Reithofer, chairman of the Board of Management of BMW AG.

The new vehicle is currently under development and will have architecture specifically tailored to the needs of urban motorists and will ensure the best possible integration of the electric drive.

BMW Group is also broaching new territory in its choice of materials for this vehicle. The ultra-light yet high-strength composite CFRP (carbon fibre-reinforced plastic) is a crucial part of the materials mix.

The company had its first experiences of electrically powered vehicles almost 40 years ago with a modified BMW 1602 that led the marathon and long-distance walking events in the 1972 Summer Olympics.

In the decades that followed, this alternative drive technology was further pursued using numerous mobile test beds, among them the revolutionary BMW E1. The technical breakthrough in lithium-ion battery technology now brings series production within grasp.