s 4 if an unlock request is received if it is determined in step s 1 that a charging cable 103 is detected at the power inlet 102 the charging cable 103 is locked to the power inlet 102 by the lock unit within a third predetermined time in step s 5 the third predetermined time may be in the order of 1 5 seconds for example 3 seconds subsequently it is again determined whether the vehicle is running in step s 6 if the vehicle is running the lock unit is unlocked in step s 7 so that the cable 103 may be removed removing the cable may be advantageous in order to prevent mechanical damage to the cable as described previously if the vehicle is not running in step s 6 a charging sequence may start in step s 8 during charging it is continuously monitored if the vehicle 101 is running or not or a signal may be sent when a start command is received in step s 9 if the vehicle 101 is determined to be running the charging process is aborted s 10 and the cable 103 is unlocked s 11 from the power inlet 102 if the vehicle is not running in step s 9 it is determined in step s 12 whether an unlock request has been received if it is determined that an unlock request has been received charging is aborted in step s 13 an unlock request may be based on a user.