Imagine not having to plug in your electric car to a wall socket or fast charger. Instead, you roll it over a charging pad or towards a charge point, pretty much like charging your smartphone from power pad available off the shelves.
BMW has recently shown that wireless chargers can work for cars and are not just for smartphones.
In a 91-second video released on September 22, the German luxury car maker has given a glimpse of how its wireless charging system works.
By 2018, the Munich-based automaker will roll out its cable-free charging for plug-in vehicles, confirming BMW's wireless charging pad system will be first made available on the plug-in 530e iPerformance car.
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The charging time for the 530e's 9.2kWh battery pack could take about 3 hours, said the company.
The driver gets a bird's-eye-view camera alongside a front-facing camera to guide him into place, allowing the car to position the coils right above the charge pad.
BMW said that its 3.7kW wallbox charger will be made available some time next year, though it did not clarify when in 2018 and at what price.
Other carmakers - including Renault, Toyota, Nissan and Tesla - are also working with original equipment manufacturers to perfect the cordless EV chargers and make them as widespread as mobile phone recharge pads.
