Speaking at a panel discussion about research and development in electromobility held in Berlin, Denner said the company invests €400m (£320m) in electromobility R&D each year.

‘I expect that by 2020, electric cars will have a range of at least 300 kilometers (186 miles),’ Denner said. 

Bosch is already supporting production electric and hybrid vehicles, including the electric rear axle fitted to PSA Peugeot-Citroën’s Hybrid4 models, the drivetrain for the electric Fiat 500e sold in the United States and the Porsche Panamera S E-Hybrid plug-in which launches this summer. 

The manufacturer is also investigating standards for data exchange, and is involved in the Hubject project which will allow cross-European electric vehicle charging, billed as mobile phones are for international roaming.

He said: ‘Electric vehicles will be connected vehicles, exchanging information with their environments. This connectivity improves safety as well as driver comfort.’