A new report on the German automaker appears to be pointing in that direction, indicating that the United States may be receiving an all-electric Bimmer by 2012. It’s unclear exactly what sort of size (or price) this new BMW will be, so we can’t say for certain whether it’ll be a sporty number like the Tesla Roadster, a generic-looking sedan, or hopped-up crossover.

BMW also has not said whether this all-electric vehicle will even be manufactured on their own. They are considering the possibility of having the work outsourced to a major US automaker. This isn’t the first time that BMW has partnered with a domestic automaker.

Norbert Reithofer, BMW CEO,k says that they will likely “make a battery-powered ecologically compatible car for the U.S. market” with a target launch date of 2012. Nissan also has an all-electric in development for the same time period.

They’ve given it the unfortunate name of Vision EfficientDynamics Concept, but what this diesel-electric hybrid X5 lacks in the nomenclature department, it makes up for in smart thinking.

BMW calls it a “Mild ActiveHybrid,” which means it’s similar in concept to the gasoline-electric systems in large SUVs and pickups from General Motors and the Honda Civic Hybrid.

The Vision EfficientDynamics employs a 2.0-liter clean diesel engine with twin variable-geometry turbochargers and direct injection that produces 204 horsepower and 295 pound-feet of torque. To fully exploit the diesel engine’s relatively narrow rev range, BMW fitted the concept with a new eight-speed automatic gearbox from ZF. Flange-mounted to the transmission is an electric motor-generator powered by a lithium-ion battery pack that spins out an additional 20 horsepower and 155 pound-feet of torque during acceleration.

The bottom line is about 44 mpg combined city/highway with emissions of only 172 grams of carbon dioxide per kilometer (consider that the X5 3.0si returns less than half as many miles per gallon and emits 244 g/km). Sixty miles per hour arrives in a decent 8.9 seconds (1.1 seconds slower than the X5 3.0si).

Via Wired News, photos via BMW