BMW is getting further involved in the electric vehicle craze, announcing Friday that it has developed streetlights designed to act as charging stations for electric cars.
The prototype for the German automaker's "Light and Charge" streetlight works with the ChargeNow charging station by using its LEDs to provide energy for vehicles, according to CNET.
"Seamless charging infrastructure is essential if we want to see more electric vehicles on the road in our cities in the future," said Peter Schwarzenbauer, member of BMW's board of management.
BMW plans on running a pilot project for the streetlights with local authority lighting networks in Munich next year, Reuters reported. The company said there is no limitation to the amount of drivers who will be able to use the lighting stations, and that the stations will be able to power cars of different models and be used with any electricity provider. Drivers will also be able to use a mobile app to charge their cars.
BMW already has two streetlights installed in front of its headquarters.
The company is responsible several vehicles in the electric car market, such as the i3 and the i8, CNET reported.
There are several auto giants that BMW will have to compete with in the electric car race, such as Nissan, General Motors and Tesla, which is currently in the lead with its long list of electric vehicles and charging station infrastructure.
