Electric cars may help cut down on fossil fuel use, but their limited range has so far been their downfall.

Now, BMW believes it has come up with a solution by using street lighting to charge up cars while they're parked, allowing them to run for longer.

The German car manufacturer said it will run a pilot project in Munich next year that uses existing local authority lighting networks to power their vehicles. 

BMW has made two prototype 'Light and Charge' street lights, which combine Light Emitting Diodes (LED) with the company's ChargeNow recharging stations.

'Seamless charging infrastructure is essential if we want to see more electric vehicles on the road in our cities in the future,' Peter Schwarzenbauer, member of the board of management of BMW AG, said.

The Munich pilot will install the first charging lights, which can be grafted straight onto the existing local authority street lighting infrastructure, BMW said.

These additional charging stations can be used by as many drivers as possible, regardless of vehicle model and electricity provider.

Two street lights are already installed in front of the BMW headquarters and drivers can pay to charge their cars via a mobile phone app.

The company has already developed some of the most advanced electric cars, including the i3 city vehicle and i8 hybrid.

But electric cars have struggled to gain widespread popularity due to their limited operating range, the scarcity of charging stations and the time it takes to recharge them.

In addition to developing street lighting, BMW has already invested in software and applications that aim to help drivers of electric cars find parking spaces and charging stations.

The group also recently met with rival Tesla Motors to discuss the availability of electric vehicle charging stations.

In September, Daimler said it had bought my taxi and RideScout, two smartphone applications that will help the maker of Mercedes-Benz limousines provide services to people who do not own cars.

Source: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/article-2829825/Never-hunt-charger-BMW-powers-electric-vehicles-using-STREET-LIGHTS.html

If its a new thing then they are way behind.toyita and smart akready have on street charging points round the UK.