The BMW wireless charging system uses an electromagnetic field to transfer electrical energy to the vehicle battery. It requires two components — a charging station called the GroundPad, installed, for example, in a garage or car park, and a CarPad on the vehicle. The two “Pads” merely have to be aligned by parking the vehicle correctly over the GroundPad. Users can then switch off the motor to automatically start recharging the vehicle battery. With a charging power of 3.2 kW, the BMW 530e iPerformance battery — which offers a range of around 50km in fully electric mode — charges in three and a half hours with minimal effort.

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BMW scores a world first in bringing to market of this kind of system. For the moment, it is offered as an optional extra, for just over €3,000, on the BMW 530e iPerformance, with production expected to begin in July 2018.

Moreover, as a co-founder of the Ionity joint venture (with Daimler, Ford and Volkswagen), the BMW group is committed to developing a vast network of quick-charging points in Europe, with some 400 high-power charging stations coming by 2020.

The system will be made available first to owners of the BMW 530e iPerformance in Germany. It is expected to follow shortly in China, the USA, Japan, the UK, and France.

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