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Press release #Business/economy
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Driverless navigation to charge spots ‒ thanks to Bosch and VW subsidiary Cariad

Testing commences for automated parking and charging

Testing commences for automated parking and charging

  • Bosch and Volkswagen subsidiary Cariad are testing driverless parking and charging based on automated valet parking.
  • Automated parking service now includes automated charging of electric vehicles.
  • Aim is to create additional benefit for automotive customers by combining automated parking and charging services.
  • Automated charging will smooth the way to electromobility.
Jennifer Gass

Jennifer Gass

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Stuttgart, Germany – Finding a parking space can be tiresome and time-consuming, especially in labyrinthine parking garages – and finding the vehicle again later is no different. The search for a free charge spot is a similar story. Together with the Volkswagen subsidiary Cariad, Bosch is now testing automated valet charging. This solution, which is based on Bosch’s automated valet parking system, guides electric vehicles driverlessly to an unoccupied parking space furnished with a charge spot, where a charging robot recharges them automatically. Once recharging is complete, the vehicle maneuvers driverlessly to another parking space. Bosch and Cariad are now testing the necessary technology in two in-house parking garages in Germany: in Cariad’s staff parking garage in Ingolstadt, the two companies are testing driverless parking with automated valet parking, while driverless charging with automated valet charging is being tested in Bosch’s development parking garage in Ludwigsburg. And at CES 2024 in Las Vegas, Bosch is also currently showcasing the technology needed for automated charging.

Electromobility: automation to allay misgivings about range

Easy, straightforward charging is at the top of the wish list for electric car drivers. But their everyday experience tells a different story: long queues at charge spots, blocking fees for disconnecting the power cable too late, and manhandling the cable. By addressing these challenges, automated valet charging greatly increases customer convenience when charging electric vehicles. What’s more, the technology offers a range of advantages for automakers, charge spot operators, parking garage operators, and energy suppliers. And for the environment, electric vehicles mean a reduction in carbon emissions from road traffic.

Automation plays a key role in the mobility revolution and the transition to electromobility. Our two services – automated valet parking and automated valet charging – make the mobility experience much smoother for users

says Manuel Maier, vice president of the cross-domain Level 4 parking product area at Bosch.

“Making it straightforward to recharge electric vehicles allays people’s misgivings about range, and is essential if electromobility is to find widespread acceptance. With this in mind, Bosch and Cariad can make parking and charging even more efficient and convenient.”

Rolf Dubitzky, head of parking at Cariad, also sees great potential in this collaboration: “We’re particularly pleased to be shaping the future of automated parking and charging together with Bosch. Our collaboration allows us to test the technologies at an early stage of vehicle development, so that the end product is reliable and offers customers the best possible user experience.”

Charging service: the automated route to even more convenience

The infrastructure guides the vehicle to the parking space, where a robot opens the charging flap and automatically inserts the charging cable, removing it again once the vehicle battery is fully charged. The car then drives back to a regular parking space, freeing up the charge spot for the next electric vehicle with a low battery. All this makes it possible for several vehicles to be recharged and parked without human interaction. This increases the efficiency of the charging infrastructure, optimizes the use of charge spots, and saves customers the bother of long waits at the charge spot.

Automated valet parking is the world’s first driverless SAE Level 4 parking service, and has been in operation in the P6 parking garage at Stuttgart airport for about a year now. Bosch has also started to equip other parking garages throughout Germany with the infrastructure technology.

Presskit #BoschCES 2024

Event #BoschCES 2024

Bosch at CES 2024:

  • PRESS CONFERENCE: Monday, January 8, 2024, from 9:00 to 9:45 a.m. (PST) with Dr. Tanja Rückert, member of the board of management of Robert Bosch GmbH, and Mike Mansuetti, president of Bosch in North America, in Ballroom Banyan ABCD, Mandalay Bay Hotel, Las Vegas, South Convention Center, Level 3, as well as livestreamed on the Bosch Media Service.
  • BOOTH: January 9 – 12, 2024, in the Central Hall, booth #17207.
  • FOLLOW the Bosch CES 2024 highlights on X: #BoschCES.
  • PANELS WITH BOSCH EXPERTS, Thursday, January 11, 2024:
    • “Elevate Your Space: Enhancing your Home with Smart Appliances”, 15:00 p.m. (local time), Venetian Hotel, Lando 4302, session with Goncalo Costa, Vice President of Climate and Wellbeing North America.
    • “Our Newest Cyber Threat is AI and AI is Our Biggest Defense”, 14:00 p.m. (local time), Las Vegas Convention Center West / N258, session with Dr. Zico Kolter, Chief Scientist of AI at Bosch.
    • “Future of Care: How Other Industries Shape Health”, 11:00 a.m. (local time), Las Vegas Convention Center / North Wing, session with Dr. Stefan Finkbeiner, General Manager at Bosch Sensortec.

Contact persons for press inquiries:

Bosch at CES: Irina Ananyeva, +49 152 597-53284, Tim Wieland, +1 248 410-0288, Trix Böhne +49 173 523-9774

Connected mobility, software: Athanassios Kaliudis, +49 152 086-51292

Smart living: Dörthe Warnk, +49 172 153-8714

Hydrogen: Anna Schmatz, +49 173 409-7533

Automated mobility: Jennifer Gass, +49 152 346-63461

Sustainability: Inga Ehret, +49 172 324-2636

X: @BoschPress

About Bosch

The Bosch Group is a leading global supplier of technology and services. It employs roughly 429,000 associates worldwide (as of December 31, 2023). The company generated sales of 91.6 billion euros in 2023. Its operations are divided into four business sectors: Mobility, Industrial Technology, Consumer Goods, and Energy and Building Technology. With its business activities, the company aims to use technology to help shape universal trends such as automation, electrification, digitalization, connectivity, and an orientation to sustainability. In this context, Bosch’s broad diversification across regions and industries strengthens its innovativeness and robustness. Bosch uses its proven expertise in sensor technology, software, and services to offer customers cross-domain solutions from a single source. It also applies its expertise in connectivity and artificial intelligence in order to develop and manufacture user-friendly, sustainable products. With technology that is “Invented for life,” Bosch wants to help improve quality of life and conserve natural resources. The Bosch Group comprises Robert Bosch GmbH and its roughly 470 subsidiary and regional companies in over 60 countries. Including sales and service partners, Bosch’s global manufacturing, engineering, and sales network covers nearly every country in the world. Bosch’s innovative strength is key to the company’s further development. At 136 locations across the globe, Bosch employs some 90,000 associates in research and development, of which nearly 48,000 are software engineers.

The company was set up in Stuttgart in 1886 by Robert Bosch (1861–1942) as “Workshop for Precision Mechanics and Electrical Engineering.” The special ownership structure of Robert Bosch GmbH guarantees the entrepreneurial freedom of the Bosch Group, making it possible for the company to plan over the long term and to undertake significant upfront investments in the safeguarding of its future. Ninety-four percent of the share capital of Robert Bosch GmbH is held by Robert Bosch Stiftung GmbH, a charitable foundation. The remaining shares are held by Robert Bosch GmbH and by a corporation owned by the Bosch family. The majority of voting rights are held by Robert Bosch Industrietreuhand KG. It is entrusted with the task of safeguarding the company’s long-term existence and in particular its financial independence – in line with the mission handed down in the will of the company’s founder, Robert Bosch.

Additional information is available online at www.bosch.com, www.iot.bosch.com, www.bosch-press.com.

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