BMW Launches Its First Mass-Production Electric Car

BMW AG BMW.XE -0.26% Chief Executive Norbert Reithofer formally unveiled on Monday its first mass-production electric car, and said his company would need to boost sales of plug-in and battery electric vehicles dramatically by 2025 to meet regulatory requirements.

The BMW i3 is expected to go on sale in the U.S. in the second quarter of 2014. It will be priced in the U.S. at $41,350 before federal tax breaks and other incentives. An optional "range extender"—a small gasoline motor—will likely boost the price tag to $45,000.

Mr. Reithofer, in an interview Sunday evening, said he is taking a long view on the potential of electric vehicles.

"If you build such a car…you have to look into the future, 10, 15, 20 years," Mr. Reithofer said. "If you look around the world, [at] the emissions regulations, in the United States, in the European Union, even in China…cars like the BMW i3 are a must."