Electric vehicle charging network ChargePoint today announced a new partnership with Apple that sees its electric vehicle charging stations listed within Apple Maps.

Drivers can click on new Electric Vehicle Charger badges in Apple Maps to get directions to charging stations, find hours of operation, and get details on pricing.

chargepoint
When at a ChargePoint charging station, iPhone users can start the charging process, pay for the charge, and see other station details through a Maps link that leads to the ChargePoint app. ChargePoint operates over 31,100 charging stations and has delivered more than 19,400,000 charges to electric vehicle owners.

Top Rated Comments

dehydratedH2O Avatar
85 months ago
I didn't know that. I know people with Nissan Leafs and some of them have told me that they can only use a few stations. I do live in an area where anyone's charging station is few and far between (Nebraska).
Yeah charging standards in the US are kind of a mess right now. There are 4 current standards:
J1772 - universal for all EVs. Slowest (~15-20mi/hr). Some are fee-for-service, some are not. Very common for businesses to install in EV-heavy areas. This is also the kind you would install at home for overnight charging.
CHAdeMO - used primarily by the Nissan Leaf for DC fast charging (~120mi/hr) - Teslas can also use these with adapters. Primarily fee-for-service, but some Nissan dealers have free ones for Leaf owners.
SAE+CCS combo - essentially J1772 plus two new pins for DC fast charging (again, ~120mi/hr) - starting to be used in more new EVs. BMW, Chevy are using this. No adapters for Tesla (yet, if ever). Almost all are fee-for-service.
Tesla - very fast (close to 300mi/hr in their current implementation). Proprietary, though Tesla have said that they're open to working with other companies to make it available to them. The patents are technically free and open for anyone to use, but they would not be able to authenticate with Supercharger stations without an agreement with Tesla for energy usage fees. Free for all Teslas built thru 2016, mostly free for Teslas built after.

Chargepoint's public network only includes J1772 and SAE+CCS as far as I know.

In Europe things are a lot easier -- they have Type 2 connectors for pretty much everything, including Teslas.
Score: 5 Votes (Like | Disagree)
tennisproha Avatar
85 months ago
Just need to add the Tesla Superchargers now.
Score: 5 Votes (Like | Disagree)
IJ Reilly Avatar
85 months ago
Yes, but IF Tesla (and any other car charging company) would permit other brands of cars to charge at their charging stations it would speed the growth of electric vehicles making the cars easier to sell and profitable sooner. Not that I think Tesla or GM or Ford will actually do this.

I mean, if you own a Toyota you would want to have to find, specifically, a Toyota gas station to refill your car, right? And a different station if you owned a Chevy and different again for Volkswagen. Because having proprietary and exclusive connections is always good for consumers.
Only Tesla runs brand-specific charging stations. All of the others are open to any EV driver, provided they have one of the three industry-standard charger connectors.
Score: 3 Votes (Like | Disagree)
IJ Reilly Avatar
85 months ago
This is fine, but what we really need is PlugShare. To my uncertain knowledge their app doesn't work in CarPlay.
Score: 2 Votes (Like | Disagree)
dehydratedH2O Avatar
85 months ago
Tesla uses a non-industry standard charge plug though, so they would have to convert all of their superchargers to have the more standard (in Europe and the US) J1772 plug. Not super helpful for a Leaf or Volt owner to get directions to a Super Charger station to find that you can't charge there.
There are no other current connection standards in the US that allow the power output of the Supercharger to be delivered, except a theoretical version of SAE+CCS which is planned, but hasn't been implemented yet. The Mennekes Type 2 connector in Europe does support the throughput, and they use it for their Superchargers there, but non-Tesla vehicles that plug in would never get any current, as the charger checks with Tesla before initiating charging to make sure that the vehicle is a Tesla that's authorized for Supercharging.
Score: 2 Votes (Like | Disagree)
IJ Reilly Avatar
85 months ago
A 14-50 is the way to go if you're getting a Tesla, because they (at least S/X) include the UMC, which plugs directly into a 14-50 for 50A charging ("Level 2", "fast" AC charging, ~15-20mi/hr). Most other EVs only include 10A chargers that use standard wall outlets (Level 1, "slow" AC, just a few mi/hr). Many owners that get cars without Level 2 chargers opt to buy Level 2 chargers that are directly wired into their home and have J1772 connectors for a few hundred dollars so they can have a more complete overnight charge. It is also possible to install these chargers on a 14-50 outlet if desired, but many owners choose not to because it's slightly cheaper/cleaner looking when they are directly wired, like the Tesla HPWC.
I have a Chevy Bolt on order and my plan is to install a 40A EVSE plugged into a 14-50 outlet in my garage, since in theory at least, that makes it portable. Completes the 60 AH charge in about nine hours. Using line current it's more like two days. I also ordered the Fast DC port on the car, which enables a full charge in an hour or so at commercial stations with DC chargers. Nobody installs them in their homes if only because they cost an arm and a leg and require something like 300 amp service.
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I didn't know that. I know people with Nissan Leafs and some of them have told me that they can only use a few stations. I do live in an area where anyone's charging station is few and far between (Nebraska).
Those cars use the CHAdeMO system, found mostly in Asia and on Asian EVs. It seems to be on the way out. Charging stations have to be few and far between in Nebraska anyway especially if you need CHAdeMO.
Score: 1 Votes (Like | Disagree)