BMW has announced that it will launch two new electric cars in 2013, called the i3 and the i8.

The new models are the first to be released under BMW's new environmentally focused sub-brand, called BMW i, which the company officially unveiled today (21 February 2011).

Plenty of BMW i cars will eventually arrive, likely to mimic the company's traditional range in scope; the pair of new cars seem to bookend what we can expect from the new brand. The i3 is a four-seat city car (formerly known as the Mega City vehicle), while the i8 is based on the Vision EfficientDynamics supercar concept.

Unlike the electric i3, the i8 is a plug in hybrid that, says BMW, "blends the sporting ability of a high-performance machine with the fuel consumption and emissions of a small car."

If the drivetrain and performance details of the original EfficientDynamics concept remain, the i8 will be powered by a 1.5-litre diesel engine with a pair of electric motors, combining to produce 323bhp and a 4.7-second 0-62mph dash. At the same time, it will be capable of 75mpg and put out 99g/km of CO₂.

Both cars use a brand new construction technique in which an aluminium chassis houses the drivetrain, with a passenger compartment made from plastic reinforced by carbon fibre.

It's a layout BMW calls the LifeDrive architecture; the company says it will counteract extensive use of expensive materials by component sharing across all the i cars.

Both models will be built in BMW's Leipzig plant, which is receiving 400 million Euros (£337 million) of investment to cope. Around 800 jobs will be created.

Explaining what the i brand means BMW board member Ian Robertson said: "BMW i offers visionary cars and services, inspiring design, and an entirely new concept of premium mobility - all with a focus on sustainability."

It doesn't stop there either, because BMW has also incorporated the i epithet to a venture capital company called, you'll be surprised to hear, BMW i Ventures. Its purpose is to invest in companies that provide mobility services.

The first of its investments is in New York company My City Way, creators of a mobile application that gives users real-time information on inner city traffic, public transport, parking availability and entertainment.

Mark Nichol - 21 Feb 2011