Volkswagen’s mobile charging robot for EVs becomes a ‘real’ prototype

Volkswagen are back with their mobile charging robot for EVs, allowing the charging of electric cars without the need for installing multiple charge points in car parks.

With Volkswagen on a mission to change themselves from the world leader in ‘clean’ diesels to the world leader in ‘clean’ EVs, there’s lots to do to ensure buyers actually buy-in to the EV ‘dream’, from making EVs actually affordable for real people to ensuring it’s as easy as possible to charge when needed.

The affordability bit relies on the ever-reducing cost of batteries – and/or new battery tech like Toyota’s solid-state battery – eventually making the production of EVs at least on a par with ICE production costs, but the ease of charging is a bigger issue.

For many, charging at home is, and will continue to be, the most affordable and convenient, with ‘Super-Charger’ EV stations like Gridserve and Ionity eventually doing the on the move charging in quick sticks, but charging at work or out shopping is a challenge.

The idea of fitting every parking space in every car park is a bit of a non-starter, but VW has had plans for a while for a ‘Robot’ charger for EVs, which it first revealed last year.

Now it’s back with a ‘real’ prototype showing how an autonomous robot could cart charging packs round a car park, plug them in to charge an EV and collect them when the charging is complete, promising to serve a whole car park without the need for separate charge points.

Thomas Schmall, CEO of Volkswagen Group Components, said:

The mobile charging robot has successfully reached prototype status and will now be comprehensively further developed. One of the prerequisites for market maturity is Car-to-X communication to facilitate the autonomous charging process.

When VW revealed the idea of the charging robot last year, they said it towed in a 25kWh charging pack, but now they’re not releasing any figures so we guess they’re working on making that rather more as battery sizes in most EVs continue to grow.

It’s a clever idea, but don’t go looking for it in your local multi-storey quite yet.

Volkswagen Mobile Charging Robot Video