Photo: Audi
Toyota and Honda are not the only automakers to invest in plug-less charging tech for their mass production cars. The technology appears to soon find its way into higher classes, as Audi is interested to offer it on some of its flagship models.
Asked by CarAdvice, Audi product manager Tobias Meyer confirmed the German company is evaluating how wireless technology could integrate into its lineup.
“We are [looking in to wireless charging]. It’s under investigation. We are discussing this topic but it’s not planned for the A3 e-tron,” said Tobias. “It’s brand new, and wireless charging is an expensive technology, and we are discussing the topic right now.”
This suggest that the wireless capabilities will have to debut on a flagship car if it’s going to happen after all. And the next-generation R8 e-tron supercar seems to be the best candidate as it will be offered with a fully electric drivetrain.
As with the systems presented so far, the electric R8 will feature a receiving plate on its “belly” which needs to be positioned above simmilar one fixed to the floor in the parking space.
Then a process called electromagnetic induction occurs, in which the electric current passing through the floor plate coil creates a magnetic field that acts on the secondary coil in the plate mounted on the car producing a current within it.
Toyota and Honda recently announced their partnership with WiTricity Corp. that will provide the system. Their wireless technology allows for positional errors between the two plates of around 10 cm on the horizontal axis and 2 degrees offset while still retaining around 90 percent efficiency.
BMW and Daimler also joined the list a couple of days ago by revealing their plans over wireless technology being developed for their elelctric and hybrid models.
“We are [looking in to wireless charging]. It’s under investigation. We are discussing this topic but it’s not planned for the A3 e-tron,” said Tobias. “It’s brand new, and wireless charging is an expensive technology, and we are discussing the topic right now.”
This suggest that the wireless capabilities will have to debut on a flagship car if it’s going to happen after all. And the next-generation R8 e-tron supercar seems to be the best candidate as it will be offered with a fully electric drivetrain.
As with the systems presented so far, the electric R8 will feature a receiving plate on its “belly” which needs to be positioned above simmilar one fixed to the floor in the parking space.
Then a process called electromagnetic induction occurs, in which the electric current passing through the floor plate coil creates a magnetic field that acts on the secondary coil in the plate mounted on the car producing a current within it.
Toyota and Honda recently announced their partnership with WiTricity Corp. that will provide the system. Their wireless technology allows for positional errors between the two plates of around 10 cm on the horizontal axis and 2 degrees offset while still retaining around 90 percent efficiency.
BMW and Daimler also joined the list a couple of days ago by revealing their plans over wireless technology being developed for their elelctric and hybrid models.
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