Rolls to trial cordless charging

The electric Rolls-Royce Phantom 102EX concept car will be used to evaluate induction as a possible means of charging all electric cars.

Although the concept car has been tagged as a test bed to gauge Rolls-Royce customer reactions to the idea of electric propulsion, company bosses have also admitted the car has a wider test role.

The idea of induction charging, where you drive your car over an inductor and it charges automatically, is an interesting one, said BMW Group director of sales and marketing Ian Robertson.

We saw from our Mini E trials that people didnt like using public charging points. They were seen somehow as being dirty, and so they preferred to use a charging point at home. The Rolls concept takes that a step further and removes the need for any cables or plugs. It is one direction for the future.