By Phil Royle – Feb. 4, 2022
Until the day comes that charging stations are on every street corner, the EV charging experience for those looking for on-the-go charging will be less than ideal. For that, charging apps often offer maps and routing instructions, but unless that information is also integrated into the vehicle’s infotainment system, even that experience can be lacking. In addition, there’s the complication of safely drilling down to quickly access plug type, plus the charging level, all behind the wheel of your EV.
For many, this isn’t an issue. For those EV enthusiasts carrying an abundance of adapters and cables, and would even welcome a BYOC EV lifestyle, the hunt for an appropriate nearby charger is part and parcel with the excitement of EV ownership. But what about everyone else? As we’ve stated on The Watt Car’s podcast, for EV adoption to become mainstream, the charging experience needs to be seamless, painless, and above all, logical. You may know the difference between CCS, J1772, CHAdeMo, and a Tesla plug, plus Level 1, 2, and 3, but should everyone have to?
One solution comes from a startup based out of Oregon. As Chargeway founder Matt Teske previously explained to us when discussing his company’s app and Beacon, the hurdle many face with EV ownership is not that the vehicle is electric, but that it utilizes a different fuel type. “What we realized was that it’s not because the car is electric, it's because it runs on electric fuel,” Teske told us in early 2020. “If you take the battery and the electric motor out of the equation, it's just a car. Dealers don't need help selling cars; they need help explaining that electricity is fuel in a way that feels as easy as getting regular or premium gas at a gas station.”
To simplify matters, Chargeway’s iOS and Android app breaks down chargers into a series of dots, with colors representing plug type and a numeric rating from one to seven representing charging speed – the higher the number, the faster the charger.
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The problem is then seamlessly accessing that information on the go. And for that, Chargeway announced this week that its app now integrates with Apple CarPlay in North America.
Per Chargeway’s press release:
One feature includes new visuals for the station map. Users will still see Chargeway's unique color/number station pins they’re used to seeing on their iPhones, but in CarPlay tightly clustered pins will be combined into red bubbles showing the station count in these “high station volume” areas. Tapping on any individual station pin then provides quick access to directions, as well as more information about the station itself, such as the network, quantity of chargers, pricing, and a quick call feature to contact network support. There’s even a star ratings feature, allowing customers to leave feedback in the app for other Chargeway users to help them make the right charging choice.
Chargeway’s trip-planning feature is also integrated into CarPlay. “Our pre-routing capability within Trip Planner on the Chargeway mobile app seamlessly passes a planned trip into the Apple CarPlay interface,” Teske explains. “It shows the suggested stops for your trip right on the dash to simplify planning, along with total charge time estimates and target battery percentage figures. Simply tap on a suggested location and click directions to launch navigation to that station.”
The trip planning feature also allows users to input temperature and speed to better predict the vehicle’s charging needs along the way.
The Chargeway app with Apple CarPlay integration is now available on Apple’s iOS App Store.
(Images courtesy Chargeway)
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