BMW Unveils Streetlight That Charges Electric Cars

Electric cars are ideal for people who live in cities where pollution tends to be the worst and driving distances tend to be less with lower speeds. Those shorter distances and slower speeds mean that electric cars are more practical than they are in rural areas where driving distances tend to be longer. The challenge for urban EV owners is finding a place to charge their vehicles.BMW has unveiled a new vehicle charger dubbed the "Light and Charge" system that combines a streetlight with ChargeNow stations. In this system, the charger is directly attached to the streetlight allowing for illumination at night and a charge point that is more attractive and adds less clutter in a city.

Currently the Light and Charge stations are being piloted in Munich at BMW headquarters. BMW did design the chargers so that any brand of automobile can charge from the lights. BMW wants the Light and Charge system to be a tool that helps get more electric cars on the road.

Naturally, BMW hopes that getting more electric cars on the road means that more electric BMWs are sold. There is no word on how long the new charger system takes to charge an electric vehicle or when it might be seen in other cities.

SOURCE: BMW Blog