EV industry targets convenient charging experience

Electric vehicle (EV) charging is one of the most hotly debated trends in the automotive industry, but there is more to it than simply building as many stations as possible. Work must go toward the user experience, and there are mounting calls for a tap and go experience akin to buying a coffee.

Today, domestic charging stations work like a charm. Drivers can return home, plug in and wake up with a full charge. Even top-ups during the day are convenient, with payments taken just like any other utility bill such as water or gas. Head out onto the open road however, and it becomes the wild west. The problem is no longer finding a charging station—that’s easy thanks to in-vehicle navigation systems and apps such as ZapMap and PlugShare. It is more the case that, on arrival, drivers may not have the convenience of simply plugging in and paying once they are done.

In recent years, test vehicles provided to journalists have come with a wallet stacked with different payment cards, each linked to