BMW plans to debut the production version of its first EV, the i3 concept, at this year’s Frankfurt auto show.

BMW is using the proceeds of booming sales in China to invest a total of 3 billion euros in its ”born electric” range of i EV vehicles by the end of 2013, a German newspaper reported.

The report, in the Handelsblatt, said the sum is based on calculations made together with the bank Credit Suisse.

A spokeswoman for BMW told Automotive News Europe that the number was a ”little high” and added that she was not sure how the report had arrived at this figure.

Citing unofficial sources at the automaker, the Handelsblatt estimated that around a third of the group’s 2012 EBIT earnings of 7.6 billion euros were generated by sales in China.

BMW, like other automakers, is developing electric vehicles in a bid to meet stricter emissions rules in the European Union, United States and China. According to the report, BMW’s fleet currently has average emissions of 138 grams per kilometer in the EU. By 2020, standards for new cars will be set at 95 grams per kilometer, with manufacturers able to offset higher emission vehicles in their fleet through the production of electric cars.

BMW plans to launch the first model in its EV lineup, the four seat i3 city car in the fourth quarter this year, after the company unveils a production version of the model at the Frankfurt auto show in September.

The i3 will be followed by the i8 plug-in hybrid sports car in early 2014. No prices have been announced yet for either model, but the i8’s price will exceed 100,000 euros, Ian Robertson, the manufacturer’s sales chief, has said.

Poor EV sales

The i3 will enter a market that has yet to meet industry expectations.

In Europe, Nissan sold 5,210 Leafs EVs, according to figures from JATO Dynamics, which was well below its target of 9,000. U.S. deliveries of the Leaf failed to reach even half of the 20,000 cars the Japanese manufacturer was targeting last year.

BMW, however, is confident of success. Harald Krueger, the carmaker’s head of production, has said the group is ”charting new territory” with the i3 and i8 models and said he is confident the group will earn money with every BMW i3 sold from the launch on.