Hyundai-Kia have been awarded a grant to research and develop a wireless charging system.
Analysis
Wireless electric vehicle charging is not just a premium vehicle feature – whilst the likes of Mercedes-Benz pursues this technology through its partnership with Qualcomm, the likes of Hyundai-Kia are showing that electric or plug-in hybrid vehicles with wireless EV charging could be a strong possibility from all manufacturers in the medium-term.
Most OEMs are already deep into investigating the technology for future generations, with the first OEM-equipped vehicles likely to launch as soon as late-2016, leading to over 100,000 wireless electric vehicle charging technology units to be sold globally between now and 2022.
Wireless charging technology is already taking off in 2015 for the consumer electronics space, so consumers are starting to understand and accept the usage case in their lives.
In all cases, wireless charging is driven by the convenience benefit and customer feedback is typically very positive once they have first-hand experience of it.
The automotive industry has already seen a handful of vehicle models integrate wireless charging pads into the vehicle interior to charge mobile phones, including models from Toyota, Chevrolet and most recently Audi.
Key findings
- Over 100,000 vehicles with wireless electric vehicle charging technology to be sold globally between now and 2022.
- Five other top ten automotive manufacturers (Toyota, Volkswagen, Ford, Chevrolet and Mercedes-Benz) globally have started fitting, or announced plans to start fitting, wireless charging technology into their vehicle range.
