Mobile help for electric cars with flat batteries

A mobile recharging system for electric cars that have run out of power at the roadside has been unveiled by Swiss company, Nation-E.

At the heart of the ‘Angel Car Mobile Service Unit’ is an on-board 230V charger capable of delivering 2-3kWh in 15 minutes, enough power to allow a stricken electric car to travel up to 20 miles back home or to the nearest charging point.

The mobile charger is designed to communicate directly with the electric car that has broken down so that it determine the type of fast charge required.

Nation-E says its Angel Car concept will makes driving the current crop of electric vehicles, which have a range of around forty miles before needing to be recharged, a realistic proposition without the need for significant new infrastructure.

A spokesperson for the ETA, a car breakdown company that covers most of the electric cars in Britain, said: “As one might expect, low battery power is the main reason electric car drivers call us out so this is equipment that could definitely prove useful.”