EVgo, a US-based public fast charging network for electric vehicles (EVs), has joined forces with Amazon to leverage the latter’s cloud-based voice service Alexa to help EV drivers with a seamless charging experience.
The partnership is expected to enable EV drivers to ask Alexa for assistance in locating and navigating to nearby EV charging stations.
Besides, drivers are expected to easily initiate and pay for the charging sessions at EVgo with the help of cloud-based voice service.
The companies have also announced their plan to make the in-vehicle functionality available to Alexa-enabled vehicles along with automotive accessories such as Echo Auto later this year.
Through the collaboration, the e-commerce major’s customers are expected to access more than 150,000 US public charging stations listed on PlugShare, an EV community.
Amazon smart vehicles vice president Anes Hodžić said: “We want Alexa to be useful for customers in their everyday lives, and EV charging is a great example of a task that can be simplified and made more convenient through the power of AI.
“By partnering with EVgo, we’re bringing Alexa’s AI and multi-modal experiences to improve the EV charging experience for drivers and streamline the process of locating, initiating and paying for a charging session.”
The Alexa-enabled EV charging experience is developed to utilise PlugShare and EVgo Inside.
The PlugShare application programming interface (API), which is integrated with the Alexa app, will enable customers to find nearby charging stations and access its public EV charging map.
The integration with EVgo Inside will allow customers to register a new EVgo account, find EVgo charging stations, begin a charging session, and complete payment from within their Alexa app.
Customers are anticipated to view real-time charger availability as well as session and billing details in the future.
EVgo CEO Cathy Zoi said: “EVgo and Amazon’s shared principles of being customer-centric and committed to a sustainable future make innovative experiences like voice-initiated charging possible.
“From Autocharge+ to charging with Alexa, EVgo is committed to continuing to raise the bar for convenience of EV ownership for our customers. EVgo is proud to be Amazon’s first charging network partner to enable this Alexa experience, and support its Climate Pledge to achieve net-zero carbon emissions by 2040.”
