FRANKFURT — BMW said Friday that it would invest $200 million and double its workforce at a factory in Washington state that makes carbon fibers as the company moves to use more of the lightweight material in cars and meet demand for a new electric vehicle.

The German carmaker operates the factory in Moses Lake in a joint venture with the SGL Group, another German company. BMW said it would hire 120 new workers as part of the expansion, which is to be completed early next year and bring the total number of employees to about 200.

The move reflects the effort of BMW and other automakers to make cars lighter and more fuel efficient, as well as increase interest by German companies in manufacturing in the United States.

BASF, a German chemical company, said Thursday that it would build a plant in Freeport, Texas, to produce ammonia for use in fertilizer. And Siemens, the German electronics and engineering conglomerate, said Wednesday that it would relocate the headquarters of a unit that supplies equipment for the energy industry to the United States because of its boom in natural gas production.

The factory in Moses Lake runs entirely on hydropower, according to BMW.