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BMW’s Chairman Norbert Reithofer revealed at BMW Group’s Annual Accounts Press Conference, that the Munich-based auto maker has plans to produce compact hybrid cars. Dubbed as the Megacity Vehicle, this project comes under BMW’s Project-i which features the all electric MINI E as its first assignment, which is undergoing customer testing via public leasing trials.

To be more specific, the chairman mentioned that, “This vehicle will be the first of a range of near-zero emission vehicles. Customers will have the choice between a fully electric drive and a high-efficiency combustion engine. Large-scale production could start in the first half of the next decade. With the Megacity Vehicle project, we are also pursuing a radical approach toward establishing a truly sustainable value chain-from development to production and sales.”

We are not sure what is meant by “customers will have the choice between a fully electric drive and a high-efficiency combustion engine”. Would there be two different types of vehicles, or the same vehicle with both features? The chairman also revealed the this new project would not carry a fifth BMW-owned badge, meaning it should have its front end slapped with either a MINI or a BMW badge.