One approach under consideration, the executive said in an exclusive conversation, would see it use large scale castings for large portions of the vehicle, rather than welding together individual stampings.

This approach — which was pioneered by Tesla — would eliminate scores of individual parts and substantially reduce the amount of work needed to assemble the vehicle. In Tesla’s case, that has translated into substantially lower production costs and much higher profit margins.

But that is just one of several possibilities, said Donckerwolke, adding what is critical is that “We are looking into different ways of producing cars.”

As for timing, if the X Convertible gets the go — a big “if” right now — it will take at least two years or more to get it ready for mass production, though Donckerwolke said he definitely wouldn’t want to see this stretch out as long as five years.