Leading the charge

Many of you may already know that I drive a fully electric Kia e-Soul. And I really love it, it’s quiet and easy to drive and most importantly it has a long range so it’s very useable! But for me the key to unlocking that range is using public charging, and this experience is still is a downside to electric vehicle ownership. It is sometimes not easy to find a charger and when you do it is not really so easy to charge the car, impacting the user experience.

Today just over 20% of charging is done using the public charger network, and that really is not a surprise given my experiences with fast charging. I would say it is not yet fully reliable, and that needs to change. I hear that it is predicted that usage is expected to grow in the near future thanks to increased EV range meaning people want to travel further, and also there are faster charging networks being introduced. This is important progress, but there are other factors to consider.

One of my main problems with using public charging is having to sign up to so many different charging networks. It is frustrating to have so many cards and apps and logins to remember. In fact, the average EV driver has three or more different apps and cards to charge, which is ridiculous! Not only this, but I can never know how much I will pay, as it is different for every provider. In fact, over a third of motorists (37%) will choose an app based on the price. But there is no way to guarantee that this company will have a charger where you need it!

Luckily things are starting to change, networks are starting to expand meaning drivers can access more chargers from one account. In fact, I have noticed that some chargers let you plug in and pay using just a credit card, so there's no need to worry about an app or a card, so this is at least a good start.

Tesla was the first manufacturer to offer a charging service only for Tesla buyers, offering a rapid fast charger network across the world, with some buyers even getting unlimited free charging with the car. It’s great if you own a Tesla, but honestly it’s not sustainable, you never see manufacturers setting up their own petrol stations where only their cars can fill up, so why would charging be any different?

I have seen recently that some manufacturers now offer two years of free charging with their cars, and another recently partnered with an energy company so that their customers can charge at home for cheaper. These are all great ideas, and it just shows that manufacturers are really starting to move in the right direction.

At Kia, we are taking things one step further by launching ‘KiaCharge’, a public-charging service for all of our users which is available with a single account, and a single card or app. We partnered with Digital Charging Solutions to give our customers easy access to over 160,000 existing charge points in Europe.

And that is not all, as Kia is also joining with IONITY, Europe's leading high-power charging network. IONITY's network runs completely on renewable energy, making electric driving as good for the environment as it is convenient!

This will encourage Kia EV drivers to explore the limits of their car’s range, and use them for longer journeys. This is a very exciting development, and I look forward to meeting many of you out on the road, or at the charging station!

#kia #kiamotors #electrification #goelectric #kiacharge