In an announcement on Monday, BMW revealed a new wireless charging system for their electric vehicles. First to the market, drivers can park overtop of a charging pad to recharge their vehicles.

The pad will enter production in July, and it can be ordered now in the United States, China, Germany, Japan and the United Kingdom. Currently, the 2018 BMW 530e iPerformance plug-in hybrid is the first compatible model, with more to follow.

The charger consists of a large pat, placed on the floor and plugged into a power socket. The pad is waterproof, so outdoor usage is considered safe. It works by transferring electricity via magnetic fields thanks to a primary coil. A secondary coil is then found in the nose of the car, which receives the wireless charge from the pad in a process known as inductive charging.



The system has a charging capacity of 3.2 kilowatts, or enough to charge the 9.2-kilowatt-hour battery of the 530e iPerformance in 3.5 hours. BMW says the wireless charger's efficiency rate is a high 85 percent.

This would otherwise nullify the need to charge your car manually.  No longer would you need to remember to plug it in before you leave the garage. Nor would you have to risk driving off with it still plugged in.

To make sure you're properly lined up, the pad will also communicate with the vehicle via wifi. The infotainment screen will then provide colored directional markings and indicators for correct parking position. Charging will then start as soon as the driver switches off the car and stops when the battery is full.

The 2018 BMW 530e iPerformance features a 2.0-liter turbocharged inline-4 paired in parallel with a single electric motor. The electric motor is integrated with an eight-speed automatic transmission powering rear wheel drive. It pushes out a total of 248 horsepower and 310 pound-feet of torque which reportedly can achieve 0-62 mph in 6.2 seconds.