The production version of the all-electric BMW i3 city car will go on sale in Europe on November 16th and in the U.S. by mid-2014.

The first of BMW’s new “i” branded battery-cars won’t start rolling into European showrooms next months – U.S. sales to start next years – but initial demand is so strong that the Bavarian maker is already talking about ramping up production.

Customers have already placed orders for 8,000 of the new BMW i3 city cars, which will eventually be sold with a choice of either a pure battery-electric drivetrain or an optional range-extender which adds a small internal combustion engine that can allow a motorist to keep going even when the battery runs down.

“If demand holds, which is what it’s looking like, we will soon have to invest more,” said BMW Chief Financial Officer Friedrich Eichiner during an Amsterdam news conference.  That translates, he clarified into “adjust(ing) capacity according to demand.”

Of course, it’s still too early to tell if the initial spate of orders actually previews a strong and steady demand for the i3, never mind the i8 plug-in sports car to follow under the new BMW nameplate. But it would certainly be taken as a welcome sign that there might finally be some momentum in the struggling battery-car segment. In the U.S. market, for example, all forms of battery-based vehicles are generating less than 4% of all sales this year, and when excluding conventional hybrids that dips to barely 1% of the market.

(Click Here to learn more about the cutting-edge BMW i3.)

But there are hints that luxury buyers may be more open to consider battery-based alternatives. Despite a modest downturn in September, U.S. sales of the Tesla Model S have generally been exceeding company forecasts this year. General Motors is hoping to also tap into a highline market when it launches its Cadillac ELR – a luxury version of the more mainstream Chevrolet Volt – next January.

BMW has been exploring a number of electrified propulsion options, including hybrid versions of its conventional models, such as the Active Hybrid versions of its 5- and 7-Series models.  But it has also decided to launch an entirely new sub-brand dubbed BMW i, which will make its entry into the market with next month’s European launch of the i3.

(BMW i8 to carry a supercar price. To see how much — and learn more about the plug-in sports car, Click Here.)

The city car, in pure battery form, will go for $47,440 in BMW’s home German market, and $41,350 when it reaches the U.S. by mid-2014.  The i3 will be powered by a 170-horsepower, 184 lb-ft hybrid-synchronous electric motor developed in-house by BMW.  It will draw power from a 22 kilowatt-hour lithium-ion battery. And though final testing hasn’t been completed, the maker expects the city car will yield between 80 and 100 miles per charge in its EPA rating.

The price tag has led some skeptics to ask how much BMW will lose on each vehicle – though the maker insists that if it hits its volume targets the i3 program will be in the black. But there’s little doubt the vehicle will be a costly one to produce. Not only does it have a 22 kilowatt-hour lithium-ion battery pack, but it makes extensive use of ultra-light carbon-fiber body panels to help reduce mass and, in turn, improve range.

(Cadillac ELR plug-in to reach U.S. showrooms in January. Click Here for more.)

This marks perhaps the most significant application of carbon fiber technology in a relatively mainstream product. Due to cost and manufacturing challenges, it’s largely limited to the most exotic sports cars, such as the new McLaren P1.  Chevrolet, meanwhile, is using a carbon fiber hood and roof on the 2014 Corvette Stingray.

Indeed, BMW has reportedly run into some issues using CF in the new i3, a weekend report in the German publication Wirtschaftswoche revealing problems bonding the battery car’s various carbon fiber components led to a 10-day halt in production.  Despite that delay, the new BMW battery car will still meet its European on-sale date of November 16^th, according to Eichiner.