Electric vehicle (EV) drivers now have easier access to more chargers through the one app, thanks to a new initiative launched through Australia’s largest motoring club and a leading charging provider.
Chargefox is aiming to reduce the number of applications EV owners need to find a charger by collaborating with other charging firms, putting their battery top-up locations on its own application.
This not only shows EV drivers where chargers from other companies are, but also provides the ability to use their services without having to sign into another application.
The NRMA, Australia’s largest motoring club, is the first firm to add its chargers to Chargefox’s ‘EV roaming’ platform, with 60 of its locations added to the latter’s smartphone application.
It brings greater synergy between the companies. Chargefox is owned by the Australian Motoring Services, which itself is owned by the Mobility Clubs of Australia – comprising the NRMA, RACV, RACQ, RAA, RAC and RACT.
Unlike similar ‘EV roaming’ models seen overseas, those who use NRMA’s chargers through the Chargefox application aren’t charged any more than they otherwise would be if they used the company’s native application.
“Drivers use Chargefox over 150,000 times per month to find their next charge,” Chargefox’s head of product Nick Wodzinksi said.
“EV roaming makes it possible for any charge station owner or operator to make their chargers available to these drivers whilst still maintaining full control of their stations on their own station management platform.”
While the ownership tie-up between Chargefox and NRMA likely helped the business case for the two companies, the EV charging giant is inviting all charging network operators to join its push for EV roaming in a bid to deliver greater coverage for drivers.
Earlier this month, Chargefox rolled out updates to its smartphone application to provide information on how long an EV has been plugged into the station it’s using, and – in the case of its ultra-fast DC chargers – what its current state of charge (SOC) is.
It came after Chargefox introduced idle fees of $1 per minute from 10 minutes after an EV finishes charging at select stations across Australia, to discourage owners from leaving their fully charged vehicles clogging busy DC charge stations.
