Speaking at the Car Symposium in Bochum, Germany, Dr Volkmar Denner, chairman of the board of management of Robert Bosch GmbH, also predicting that hybrid powertrains will become the standard for SUVs.

Mr Denner said: ‘Electrification will take combustion engines to new heights.’ He added that falling battery prices will make hybrids considerably more affordable.

He used the example of China to show how important it is in a mass market for electric cars to be suitable for everyday use. There are already more than 120 million electric scooters on China’s roads. And in China, Bosch sells the electric wheel hub drive for such e-scooters.

‘The reason these two-wheelers are such a success is that they are a perfect match for Chinese commuters’ needs,’ Denner said. And many models are less expensive than two-wheelers with combustion engines a task that he said should now be extended to tailor-made solutions possible for cars as well.

Mr Denner added that advances in battery technology are the key to lower vehicle prices and said he believes that by 2020 batteries will deliver twice as much energy density for half the present cost.

The development of connected electric cars will also drive take-up, according to the firm, with developments to improve vehicle recharging.

Bosch Software Innovations, the Bosch Group’s software and systems unit, has developed an app that makes it significantly easier to reserve the charge spots of different providers and pay for the electricity, without requiring a different customer card for each provider. Now all drivers need is a smartphone, the app, and a PayPal account to recharge anywhere in Germany, backed up a software platform that links 80% of all charge spots in Germany.