BMW has unveiled a street lighting system equipped with sockets that could keep electric vehicles topped up.

The ‘Light and Charge’ prototype system combines LED street lights with charging points for EVs and is expected to be rolled out as part of a pilot project in Munich, Germany next year.

The luxury car manufacturer said the charging lights can be grafted straight onto existing local authority street lighting infrastructure.

Electricity used will be billed via the BMW i ChargeNow network or payments can be made by using a mobile phone app, it added.

Peter Schwarzenbauer, Member of the Board of Management of BMW AG said: “Light and Charge is a simple and innovative solution which aims to seamlessly integrate a smoothly functioning charging station network into the urban landscape.

“Seamless charging infrastructure is essential if we want to see more electric vehicles on the road in our cities in the future.”