Huawei showed off a robotic arm for automatically charging electric vehicles

Huawei has unveiled a robotic arm that connects a charging cable to an electric vehicle’s port, eliminating the need for the driver to do it themselves. The electronic limb operates in a completely autonomous mode, so you can charge unmanned vehicles or eliminate the need for the driver to leave the vehicle.

Image source: youtube.com/@carnewschina4118

The company published a demonstration video showing how this system works. The main character in the video is the Maextro S800 electric sedan without a driver. Having received a command via a remote channel to connect to charging in unmanned mode, the car independently begins to search for a station. Having detected a free charger, the car parks next to it on autopilot, and the robotic arm connects the cable to the car’s port, monitoring for possible obstacles. When charging is complete, the manipulator automatically turns off, the owner is charged, and the car leaves the station.

The robotic arm is installed on Huawei’s flagship 600 kW charging station – it is capable of providing 100 kWh of energy in 10 minutes. Serial production of such chargers will start in the second quarter of 2025, reports CarNewsChina, citing its own source. It will be able to power electric vehicles from all manufacturers of the Huawei Supercharging alliance: BYD, Xpeng, Li Auto, Aito, JAC and Great Wall. The Chinese electronics giant formed the alliance in April 2024 with the support of 11 of China’s largest electric vehicle manufacturers, with plans to install 100,000 Supercharger stations in China by the end of the year.

Maextro is a premium electric vehicle brand launched by Huawei and JAC; The Maextro S800 model was presented in November last year – it received a price tag of $140 thousand and a third-level autopilot.