Volkswagen envision a future where autonomous robots charge your EV
Retrofitting older buildings, car parks, and roads with supercharger networks will be expensive, so these robots bring the charging points to you instead.
Key takeaways
- The company says that they are equipped with 25 kWh battery packs each and they can charge a vehicle at 50 kW through DC fast-charging.
- The charging robot can move several battery wagons at the same time.
- Volkswagen argues that the concept would result in much lower installation costs since they would only have to deploy the system on a small part of a parking garage.
Cite or link to this article
Griffin, M. (2020) 'Volkswagen envision a future where autonomous robots charge your EV', 311 Institute, 14 February. Available at: https://www.311institute.com/volkswagen-envision-a-future-where-autonomous-robots-charge-your-ev/ (Accessed: 1 October 2026).
One of the problems of owning an electric car is that you always have to find a charging point – but what if instead of hunting around for one one came to you instead? That’s the idea behind Volkswagen’s new concept after they unveiled their “butler” robot that can charge electric vehicles in a parking garage using mobile battery packs.
The German automaker says that “mobile robots will charge electric vehicles completely autonomously in the future.”
Mark Möller, Head of Development at Volkswagen Group Components added: “The mobile charging robot will spark a revolution when it comes to charging in different parking facilities, such as multistorey car parks, parking spaces and underground car parks because we bring the charging infrastructure to the car and not the other way around. With this, we are making almost every car park electric, without any complex individual infrastructural measures. It’s a visionary prototype, which can be made into reality quite quickly, if the general conditions are right”,
And they released a quick video of the concept. Volkswagen says that it has a prototype that consists of the self-driving robot and the energy storage devices, which it calls “battery wagons”.
The company says that they are equipped with 25 kWh battery packs each and they can charge a vehicle at 50 kW through DC fast-charging. The charging robot can move several battery wagons at the same time.
Volkswagen argues that the concept would result in much lower installation costs since they would only have to deploy the system on a small part of a parking garage.
Möller commented: “This approach has an enormous economic potential. The constructional work as well as the costs for the assembly of the charging infrastructure can be reduced considerably through the use of the robots.”
The automaker says that “a possible date for the market launch of the charging robot has not been set yet.”
So does this mean the hunt for charging stations is now over? Will robots set us free rather than enslave us? Well, we’ll see…
FAQ
Why does this matter?
Retrofitting older buildings, car parks, and roads with supercharger networks will be expensive, so these robots bring the charging points to you instead.
About the author
Matthew Griffin Founder, 311 Institute
Matthew Griffin is a multi-award winning Futurist and expert in Disruption and Innovation, Geopolitics, Leadership, and Technology, who NASA have described as a "walking encyclopaedia of the future" and a "futurist Polymath."
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Matthew Griffin is a multi-award winning Futurist and expert in Disruption and Innovation, Geopolitics, Leadership, and Technology, who NASA have described as a "walking encyclopaedia of the future" and a "futurist Polymath." 15-time best selling author of the "Codex of the Future" series, Matthew is the Founder and Futurist in Chief of the 311 Institute, a global Futures and Deep Futures advisory firm working with royal households, world leaders, G7, G20, and G77 governments, NGOs, and multi-national mid and mega cap firms to help them explore, shape, and lead the next 50 years of business and society.
An award-winning YouTube creator with over a million followers, with an unrivalled global reach and impact, Matthew is a highly sought-after international keynote speaker, lecturer, and mentor who collaborates with global leaders through the United Nations Alliance of Civilizations (UNAOC) and United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) to shape pivotal initiatives such as the UN’s AI for Humanity program, the United Nations Conference of the Parties (UN COP), and the World Economic Forum in Davos.
As the former Global Head of Cloud, National Security, and Enterprise Sales for companies including Atos, Dell-EMC, and IBM, Matthew has a proven track record of building multi-billion dollar business units and turning failing divisions into market leaders. His ability to identify, analyse, and communicate the implications of hundreds of emerging technologies and trends is unparalleled, and his insights are trusted by many of the world’s most respected organisations, including ABB, Accenture, Adidas, AON, ARM, BCG, Centrica, Citi, Coca-Cola, Dentons, Deloitte, Dow Jones, EY, Google, KPMG, Lego, Legal & General, LinkedIn, Microsoft, PepsiCo, Qualcomm, RWE, Samsung, Siemens AG and Siemens Energy, T-Mobile, UBS, VISA, Walmart, Workday, Worldpay and many others.
Regularly featured in the global media including the AP, BBC, Bloomberg, CNBC, Discovery, Forbes, Khaleej Times, Telegraph, TIME, ViacomCBS, WIRED, and the WSJ, Matthews mission is to help organisations create a fair and sustainable future whose benefits are shared by everyone irrespective of their ability, background, or circumstances.
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Source: first published by the 311 Institute on 14 February 2020. Cite as: Griffin, M. (2020). Volkswagen envision a future where autonomous robots charge your EV. 311 Institute. https://www.311institute.com/volkswagen-envision-a-future-where-autonomous-robots-charge-your-ev/
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