LAS VEGAS (dpa-AFX) - Bosch and VW are testing a system that automatically drives electric cars to a charging station and refills their batteries. The vehicles then look for a free space in the parking garage on their own. The automotive supplier presented the joint test with Volkswagen's software subsidiary Cariad at the CES technology trade fair in Las Vegas on Monday. They see the idea as a solution to waiting times in front of the charging points and blocking fees for drivers who do not drive their cars away quickly enough once charging is complete.

Driverless charging is being tested in Bosch's development parking garage in Ludwigsburg. The charging cable is plugged in and unplugged by a robotic arm. The system, which allows vehicles to automatically find a space in the parking garage, has already been around for some time. It is also available in a parking garage at Stuttgart Airport for consumers with appropriately equipped cars. According to Bosch, it has begun to equip other parking garages in Germany with the necessary infrastructure.

Meanwhile, the South Korean company HL Mando is attempting to automate parking without additional technology in the vehicle. At CES, the company is showcasing a system called Parkie - a flat platform with electric motors that drives under cars, lifts them up and moves them around the parking lot. HL Mando sees the advantage of being able to use parking space more efficiently: Parkie can also drive sideways and is not dependent on the turning radius of the cars. The platform can move vehicles weighing up to three tons and a battery charge should last up to five hours. HL Mando wants to sell the platforms to parking lot operators for around 100,000 dollars each./so/DP/he