BMW to Introduce Wireless Charging with its 530e iPerformance

• Published On: 29 September 2017
• 1404 Views

The 530e is touted to be the first production car to feature this tech.

The 530e iPerformance will be the first production car in the world to get a wireless charging system. The tech is borrowed straight from the company’s Formula E i8 safety car, and will also feature on the hybrid 5-series next year.

The German carmaker claims that the wireless charging system can charge the 530e’s lithium-ion battery in 3.5 hours. In comparison, it is about an hour and a half slower than the fastest current plug that is offered with the hybrid. The wireless system uses resonant magnetic inductive coupling tech to create an electromagnetic field.

Even though the charge time is slower, it is way more convenient. The car starts charging automatically as soon as the 530e is parked on the floor charge pad with its engine turned off. Additionally, guiding lines displayed on the infotainment system will help the driver get on to the charge pad correctly. The charge pad can be placed outdoors or indoors. At the moment, BMW has only confirmed wireless charging for the plug-in hybrid 5-series; however we expect it to be offered on future BMW EVs as well.

BMW’s latest offering for India is the new 5-series, and it’s available in both diesel and petrol trims.