EVgo Inc. is partnering with Amazon to support an Alexa-enabled electric vehicle charging experience. This collaboration will allow drivers to ask Alexa to help them find and navigate to nearby EV charging stations, as well as initiate and pay for charging sessions at EVgo stations seamlessly. The companies plan to roll out the in-vehicle functionality to Alexa-enabled vehicles as well as automotive accessories like Echo Auto later this year.
“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,” says Anes Hodžić, vice president of Amazon Smart Vehicles. “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.”
Amazon’s Alexa-enabled EV charging experience is designed to leverage PlugShare, an EV community and a part of the EVgo Inc. family, as well as EVgo Inside. Integrated with the Alexa app, the PlugShare API will allow customers to find nearby charging stations, access its comprehensive public EV charging map and ultimately take advantage of a seamless charging experience built from over a decade of serving the largest community of EV drivers in the world.
With EVgo Inside integration, customers can also register a new EVgo account, find EVgo charging stations, initiate a charging session, and complete payment – all from within their Alexa app. In the future, customers will also be able to view real-time charger availability, and view session and billing information.
“EVgo and Amazon’s shared principles of being customer-centric and committed to a sustainable future make innovative experiences like voice-initiated charging possible,” states Cathy Zoi, CEO at EVgo. “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.”
Through this partnership, Amazon customers can access over 150,000 U.S. public charging stations listed on PlugShare.