Toyoda Gosei has developed an in-cabin wireless charger that is intended to save room in the confined space of a centre console. The charger takes the form of a holder that phones can be placed in vertically, making the charger an estimated 60% more compact than the charging mats used in most vehicles. This new solution is going to be used on the new 2023 Toyota Prius.
This is not the first time a manufacturer has employed a wireless charger that changes the orientation of the pad, BMW have employed a similar solution in the past, however this design was not compatible with larger phone sizes and has since been replaced by a more standard mat. The design by Toyoda Gosei should accommodate more sizes of phone. It will be interesting to see how the charger in the new Prius deals with maintaining alignment during motion, if it is successful, this may be a step towards adoption of wireless power into smaller economy vehicles where space is at a premium. SAR recently released an in-cabin wireless charging update to its wider Wireless Power and Charging Technologies service.
