German car manufacturer BMW will begin production in July of a wireless inductive charging system for high-voltage batteries in plug-in hybrid vehicles, the company announced on Monday.
The move comes as part of the BMW Group’s 'number one next' strategy. The technology will first launch in Germany, and will subsequently be offered to the U.K., the U.S., Japan and China, the company said.
BMW wireless charging will enable electric energy from the mains supply to be transmitted to a vehicle’s high-voltage battery without any cables – when the vehicle is positioned over a base pad, the company explained.
The base pad can be installed for example in a garage, where the charging process starts as soon as the vehicle has been parked in position without any further input from the driver, BMW noted.
The system has a charging power of 3.2 kilowatts, enabling the high-voltage batteries on board the BMW 530e iPerformance, the newest electric car of BMW, to be fully charged in around three-and-a-half hours.
'The company is therefore once again leading the way in the development of groundbreaking charging technology that greatly enhances the ease of use and everyday practicality of electrified vehicles,' the statement read.
By Ebru Sengul
Anadolu Agency
energy@aa.com.tr