Tesla has acquired a German company specializing in wireless charging technologies for an undisclosed sum.
Ordinarily, acquisitions like these would come with an announcement detailing the transaction but neither Tesla, nor the German company Wiferion, have commented on the deal. What we do know is that Wiferion’s website says it is now part of ‘Tesla Engineering Germany GmbH’. A purchase price has also not been announced but it is believed to have been $76 million as this is the figure listed in Tesla’s most recent earnings report as ‘Business Combinations.’
Wiferon has experience in developing and manufacturing inductive charging systems and has primarily provided its solutions to transport systems, forklifts, and robots, Drive Tesla Canada reports. Since Tesla acquired the company, updates made to the German Commercial Registry indicate that it will now have an increased focus on “products and services in the field of power electronics and other technical disciplines to support the advancement of electric vehicles and stationary energy storage systems and devices.”
Tesla has been open about its recent development of wireless charging solutions for its EVs and it is widely assumed that it will leverage Wiferon’s expertise in the field to improve its own system.
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The electric car manufacturer hinted at its wireless charging system during March’s Investor Day when a presentation from Tesla’s head of Global Charging Infrastructure, Rebecca Tinucci, included a slide that showed an image of a Model S parked over what appeared to be an inductive charging pad.
Word of Tesla’s latest acquisition comes shortly after an alliance of carmakers including the BMW Group, General Motors, Honda, Hyundai, Kia, Mercedes-Benz Group, and Stellantis announced a joint venture to create a charging network in North America to challenge Tesla Superchargers. The plan calls for at least 30,000 chargers to be established across the U.S. and Canada with CCS and NACS plugs, a minimum of 350 kW charging speeds, and maximum speeds of 400 kW.
